


Gotta Protect the People I Care About (ONESHOTS)

by hamham1o1



Series: Gotta Protect the People I Care About [2]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, I have a whole long ass stroy but still have no fucking idea how to tag really-, Night Terrors, No Romance, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Scars, tags to be added??, there will be fluff i promise-
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:47:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27127435
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hamham1o1/pseuds/hamham1o1
Summary: HI these are the oneshots to my main story Gotta Protect the People I Care About!DO NOT READ THESE FIRST BC THEY WILL MOST LIKELY NOT MAKE SENSEHave to read part one :)Hope you guys enjoy!
Relationships: Clay | Dream & Dave | Technoblade, Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF), Wilbur Soot & TommyInnit
Series: Gotta Protect the People I Care About [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977886
Comments: 301
Kudos: 371





	1. Intro I guess?

Heya folks! I'm just doing a test on how to use series bc I haven't used series before! 

Anyway! I'll be posting all the oneshots for Gotta Protect here! Part 3 of the series will be the Alternate endings so keep an eye out for those :))))

not really anything else to say haha

The first one should be coming out after the last chapter and will probably be updating regularly after that :)

Hope you enjoy all the angst, fluff and other things in these! 

Love you all! 

-Ash :)


	2. GUYS POLL BC IM INDECISIVE

HELLO, HI

QUICK QUESTION:

DO U GUYS WANT AN ANGSTY ONESHOT ABOUT A NIGHTMARE FIRST OR DO U GUYS WANT SOME FLUFF  
  
PLEASE SAY IN THE COMMENTS-

Its my lunch break and I really wanna write so I can get something put out soon!

Love you all,

-Ash :)

HI GUYS YOU DON'T HAVE TO KEEP RESPONDING IF U DON'T WANT TO! THE COMMENTS WERE LEGIT ALL ANGST EXCEPT FOR ONE PERSON SO ANGST IS THE CHOICE :)


	3. Night Terrors and Sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dream has nightmare. Comfortblade bc hell yeah. 
> 
> they're trauma buddies and no one can tell me otherwise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG
> 
> I took 3 days to write this bc its the longest thing I've written in a while! 
> 
> I'm actually proud of it! The last paragraph is a bit iffy but other than that I really enjoyed writing this and I think it's pretty good!
> 
> This was to show that Techno would be Dream's main source of comfort when it came to talking about everything that happened and shit. Why Techno understands it so well is in the story ;)
> 
> I hope you all enjoy! This took a lot of time, I hope you enjoy! :D

_ Dream backed up slowly from the body. The iron sword protruded from Slayer’s chest. Blood spilled from the stab wound and out of his mouth. Dream’s breath was ragged and quick as he stared at the body of his fallen enemy. Slayer let out a wet cough, blood spraying from his mouth, he gripped the sword and smiled.  _

_ “You killed me Dream.” said Slayer, voice raspy and almost incoherent. Dream stared at the body in horror as it crashed to the ground. He slammed his eyes shut and turned away from him. He could feel the tears coming to his eyes. Dream shook his head and walked away from the body and further into the darkness. He stopped, there was an axe suddenly in his hand and he looked at it.  _

_ “Deep breaths,” he told himself. Suddenly he felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned around and swung the axe at the invisible threat. His eyes widened when he saw the blade buried deep into Tommy’s neck. Tommy looked at him with a look of pure horror and sadness. Blood leaked from the boy's mouth. _

_ “D-dream, why…?” said Tommy. Dream felt his throat close and warm tears dropped down his cheeks. He ran forward to grab the boy but he fell to the ground with a thud. He pulled Tommy into his lap and turned him over. Cold, dead eyes stared into his green ones. He scrambled away from the body. More tears came from his eyes and whimpers left his throat. He stood up and backed away, never taking his eyes off his body.  _

_“Tommy…?” he heard from behind. He turned around swiftly and saw Tubbo standing there next to Wilbur. Tubbo was staring at his friend’s motionless body as tears slid down his cheeks. Wilbur stared at him with eyes full of an emotion Dream couldn’t pinpoint. Tubbo and Wilbur ran forward and WIlbur pulled his body into his lap while Tubbo clung to his now dead friend’s shirt as sobs wracked his body._ _  
__“You killed him,” said Wilbur darkly. Dream felt a sob come from his throat. Wilbur stood up and pulled out a blade. Wilbur had tears streaming down his cheeks and his eyes were full of rage._

_ “YOU FUCKING KILLED HIM!!” screamed Wilbur. He lunged at Dream and something made Dream’s body move without his permission. He swung the axe and it dug itself into Wilburs ribs. Dream watched in pure horror as the color drained from Wilbur’s face. Tubbo screamed and Dream looked at him.  _

_ “You killed him!” screamed Tubbo, he was still clinging to his best friends body. Dream dropped the axe and took a small step towards Tubbo, but the boy shrieked in response.  _

_ “Get the fuck away from him!” screamed Technoblade. Dream stepped back when he saw the diamond axe in the pig hybrid’s hand. He tried to speak but the only thing that came out was static. Dream saw Bad and Skeppy run towards Tubbo and check on him. Dream felt his body move again and his hand wrapped around the axe’s handle. He tried to scream at them to run but only static was heard. George and Sapnap walked up and stood next to Techno with infuriated expressions.  _

_ “You son of a bitch,” said Sapnap. Dream flinched at his words.  _

_ “You’re going to fucking pay,” spat George. Techno suddenly lunged at him and his body moved deflecting Tcehno’s attack but it gave Sapnap the perfect opportunity to swing his axe, cutting i _ _ nto Dream’s thigh. He cried out and his legs moved without permission. He couldn’t control his body. Dream raised his axe and brought it down onto Sapnap, cutting into his shoulder blade. A strangled cry came from Sapnap and he fell to the ground.  _

_ “NO!!” screamed George as he ran to his friend and turned him over. Dream heard George mumbling something to Sapnap. He wanted to move towards them but any move he tried to make was stopped because of the force controlling him. Techno was staring at them with wide eyes and Dream jumped at him using it to his advantage. He swung his axe and it went into Techno’s skull bringing him down immediately. His long pink hair stained red. Dream’s eyes moved over to Skeppy and Bad who were with Tubbo. They stared at him with such fear it made Dream sick. Tears flowed down his cheeks but his face remained emotionless. He was covered in blood, the once warm, wet liquid, was now cold and dry on his clothing and skin. He unwillingly stumbled towards them, blade scraping the ground behind him. He wanted to scream at them to run, to get away and that he was going to kill them but his mouth wouldn’t open despite the tears rolling down his cheeks. Skeppy stood up, he was unarmed and tears were going down his tan cheeks.  _

_ “S-stay back!” screamed Skeppy. Bad was pulling onto the back of his shirt telling him to stop but Skeppy didn’t even have time to move because of the axe Dream threw. A gut wrenching scream came from Bad’s throat when Skeppy collapsed. Dream’s mind was going black, he could barely think any more, all he saw was that he was getting closer and closer to Bad and Tubbo. George ran towards the two and stood in front of them. Dream felt his lips curl into a smile, a sickening grin finding its way onto his face. Suddenly right before he brought the axe down onto George a hand grabbed his arm. He fought against the strong grip but then another hand grabbed his other arm. He regained control over his mouth and screamed. He fought to get free, he jerked his body away from the hands but only ended up stumbling over his legs and falling to the ground. He could hear loud screams in his ears. Voices calling his name. He screamed. He couldn’t move and the darkness was beginning to consume him.  _

_ “DREAM!” yelled a voice. He cried out, sobs wracking throughout his body. He managed to move his hands and began clawing at the hands and their grip loosened temporarily before returning full force. Pain began to course through his body as the darkness got closer and closer. He felt like he was underwater, he suddenly couldn’t breathe as the darkness drowned him. He clawed at his throat. The darkness blocked out what little light was left and Dream slammed his eyes closed.  _

  
  


And then he woke up. 

  
  


A strangled cry came from his throat as his eyes shot open. He couldn’t see through his tears but he could still feel the hands restricting his movement. He thrashed, kicking at anything, trying to get away. He only had one thought running through his panicked mind; get out NOW. 

“Let go of him!” he heard a voice scream. He pulled his arms still not gaining any freedom. He let out another scream. 

“He’s just going to hurt himself more or someone else!” yelled another voice. Finally, his foot made contact with something and he kicked, HARD. A gasp was heard and then the hands were gone. He immediately scrambled off his bed and towards the door, hitting his side on a piece of furniture. He shoved bodies out of the way and sprinted down the hall. He heard people screaming his name but he ignored it. His brain was still focused on escaping, ignoring the burning pain on his neck. He needed to get away from them because just like the voice said, he’d hurt someone. He wiped his face of the tears and cleared his vision. He ran down the flights of stairs. He slipped on the floor and fell down the last 4 or 5 stairs. He sat up and lightly touched the skin above his lip, he moved his hand back and blood dripped off his finger. He stared at it for a second before he heard footsteps and his name being called. Dream stood up, ignoring the pain of his side and leg. He saw the front door and unlocked it. He ran out slamming it behind him with enough force to rattle the wall and jam the lock buying him extra time. He ran barefoot through the snowy forest. He ran and ran until he reached it. His sanctuary that no one knew about. Branches cut his face, and exposed arms and legs as he ran. He was only in gym shorts and a short sleeve black shirt. His breath came out in short gasps making it very hard to run. His feet were getting numb by the time he reached the place. It was still early winter and despite it being snowy almost year around the lake he had found on a walk a while ago wasn’t frozen over just yet. He always went there if the roof wasn’t an option. He fell to his knees next to the water and closed his eyes, sucking in the cold air making his lungs burn. He was shaking violently, tears still running down his cheeks. He reopened his eyes and looked down at his hands. His eyes widened when he saw blood. His hands were covered in it and so was his shirt. His breathing quickened making it nearly impossible to breath correctly. He shoved his hands into the freezing cold water. He pulled them out but it was still there. Dream pulled off his shirt and rubbed the fabric all over his hands, desperate to get the crimson liquid off his hands. Hot tears continued to fall. 

“Get off,” he grumbled while scrubbing furiously at the blood of his hands. He sat there, shirtless, trying to get it off. There were voices, whispering to him. ‘ _ You’re dangerous.’ ‘You’ll hurt them.’ ‘You killed someone.”  _ mumbled the voices.  _ ‘They're afraid of you.’ ‘You’re a monster.’  _ His eyes widened at the last two. 

“No I’m not! “ he screamed. His hands found his hair and he squeezed, pulling the blonde locks. The voices got louder and louder. His head was pounding. Pure fear shot through his when he heard the crunch of snow behind him. He turned around and stood up, knees shaking. 

“W-who’s there!?” he yelled. A tall figure emerged from the treeline. Long pink hair shined in the moonlight and light blue eyes stared at him.

“Dream.” said Techno. Dream took a step back when Techno stepped forward. 

“Stay b-back!” he screamed. Techno stopped. 

“Is something wrong, Dream?” asked the pig hybrid. Dream attempted to take a step back but his foot was met with water. 

“Don't come c-closer,” said Dream, voice shaky. Techno put his feet together. 

“Why not?” asked Techno. Dream looked away from him before answering.

“I don’t- I don’t wanna hurt you…” said Dream, voice trailing off at the end. He was shaking violently from the cold and his anxiety and fear. Techno’s straight face softened at his words. He watched his friend stand in front of that lake. His blue eyes glanced at his bloody neck from when he scratched at his neck during his nightmare. He also had a bruise forming on his side from when he crashed into his table on the way out of his room. Blood was on his face and he assumed Dream tripped. He sighed. He hated seeing what he just saw. They were all sleeping until a gut wrenching scream made them all wake up. When they went to Dream’s room he was writhing in his bed, tears running down his face, saying things that no one understood. He shuddered at the memory, but he understood everything going on. He stepped closer to Dream. Dream noticed and attempted to step back to further himself from Techno but was once again met with cold water. His eyes glanced around the environment, frantically searching for somewhere to go. Techno noticed his green eyes focusing on his left. He could tell the blonde was going to attempt to run away. As much as he didn’t want to as soon as Dream’s foot shifted left, Techno rushed forward and grabbed Dream’s arm. He couldn’t let him get away again. He got lucky finding him the first time and in his condition he could tell he was going to get hypothermia soon. Dream’s eyes widened when he felt Techno hand grab his arm. Panic shot through him. He didn’t want Techno to get hurt. He turned around and clawed at Techno’s hand but Techno merely twitched his eye at the stinging pain and grabbed Dream’s other arm when less force this time, but still made sure Dream couldn’t get out of the grip. Dream cried out and tried to pull away. 

“Dream calm down.” said Techno. Dream ignored him.

“Stop! I don’t wanna hurt you! Please!” begged Dream. Techno swallowed. He hated this, Dream was a good friend and someone he respected the most besides Philza. He was a strong fighter but just like Techno the claws of battle nearly killed him. 

“You’re not going to hurt me Dream,” whispered Techno. He loosened his grip ever so slightly. Dream whimpered. Techno sighed and pulled Dream into a hug that Dream didn’t like very much. He was so scared of hurting him. He didn’t want to hurt him. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He weakly pushed away from him but the cold was starting to get to him. 

“Stop…” he whispered. Techno put a hand on the back of his head. 

“Shh, it’s okay Dream, you’re not going to hurt anyone,” said Techno calmly. He began combing his fingers through Dream’s hair, a tactic he learned from Sapnap one night during another nightmare. He pulled his head close once Dream stopped fighting fully, Techno didn;t know if it was due to the cold or him actually calming him down. He kept his arms around Dream’s bareback. 

“I was so scared,” mumbled Dream. Techno sniffed and squeezed him tighter. 

“It’s okay Dream you’re okay,” assured Techno. The two stood there before Techno felt Dream’s knees go weak and buckle under him. He caught him under his arms and lowered the blonde to the ground slowly. He laid Dream’s back against his to keep his bare skin off the ground. Techno then removed his robe and draped it over Dream’s shoulders, his eyes quickly glancing at Dream’s scars. Techno looked around and internally cursed for not remembering the way he got here and for not bringing someone else. Dream quickly rewrapped his arms around Techno’s torso leaning into the warmth. He always felt safe around Techno, maybe it was because he could fight, or maybe it was because of something else but he always felt calmer when he was around. Techno looked down at his friend. He was still shaking and from what he could see tears still rolled down his freckled cheeks. He looked around for any sign that someone may have followed him but he didn’t see anything. He refocused on the blonde clinging to his shirt.

“Dream, there’s a cave right over there, we need to move over there or you’re going to get hypothermia,” said Techno. He wasn’t even sure if Dream heard him but then he felt Dream’s arms loosen and he let go, leaning back. Dream kept his head down, he didn’t want to look Techno in the eyes, he was ashamed and embarrassed. Techno noticed and was going to speak but then a strong gust of cold wind hit and he decided he’d try to talk to Dream in the cave. He doubted the blonde would tell him anything, he never did, but it was still worth a shot. He put an arm around Dream’s back and helped him stand. They slowly made their way to the cave and Techno sat Dream down in the cave and he retrieved dirt from his inventory. Dream watched Techno block up the caves entrance to keep the cold out. He couldn’t help but feel trapped though. He pulled Techno’s red robe tighter around his shivering form. Even though his vision was blurry he could see Techno’s shoulder shake and guilt washed over him. Techno turned around.

“We need to warm you up, especially your hands and then look at your neck,” said Techno as he pulled some sticks from his inventory and threw them on the ground. Dream watched as Tecchno got a fire going. It gave the dark cave a nice orange glow. Techno stood up and stretched his legs after crouching for a while. He noticed how Dream was curled in on himself like an afraid child after doing something bad. He sighed and sat down in front of the fire. He reached out next to him and pulled Dream away from the cold stone wall and towards the warm fire. Dream yelped at the contact making Techno quickly remove his hand. 

“Sorry,” said Techno. Dream shook his head. His lungs still hurt so he didn’t verbally answer. Techno had picked up Dream’s wet shirt and he squeezed the water from it onto some wool and wiped the blood from Dream’s neck, earning a few hisses of pain. He also cleaned the now dry blood off his face. He threw the wet wool to the side and was glad when he saw that the cuts weren’t very deep. 

“Dream,” said Techno. Dream glanced at the other.

“Y-yeah?” he asked. 

“Do you, do you want to talk about it?” asked Techno. Dream tensed. He really didn’t. He didn’t like talking about his nightmares. He didn’t want to have to relive them or burden the others with them.

“I know you don't like too but keeping them to yourself is only going to make them worse. And they’re already really bad,” stated Techno. Dream scowled. He knew Techno was referring to tonight. His nightmares had been getting better. He didn’t know what caused this one to be so bad. He knew he needed to talk about it but everytime he got the courage to try he looked into Techno’s eyes and that fragile courage shattered. He felt like shit for this. He ran out of their home during the middle of the night and dragged Techno out here into the cold. His other friend’s were probably looking for them too. In the cold and what looked like the start of a blizzard. Feelings of guilt settled into his throbbing chest. 

“I c-can’t. I’m sorry,” said Dream as he pulled his knees to his chest and rested his head on his kneecaps. The two sat there in silence. Techno noticed how Dream’s hands were still shaking and he reached over and carefully turned Dream towards him and gently pulled his hands towards the fire. Techno figured Dream was too tired or out of it to protest. He kept his hands on Dream’s hands. Dream stared at the flames until he heard Techno clear his throat. 

“It was maybe 5 years ago,” started Techno.

“Me, Phil, and Wilbur had joined Phil’s hardcore world and were having a tour. All was good, we stayed for a while, maybe a month. It was fun,” said Techno. He smiled fondly at the memory of the good times they had. His smile changed into a grim scowl when he spoke next. Dream looked at Techno.

“All was fine until someone found a way into the world. He and his group were going to rob Philza. I had no idea they had even come because I was working in my potato fields, Phil and Wil were the only ones at the house. It wasn’t until I heard a loud boom from TNT and the smoke rising from the house did I realize something was wrong. I ran, I ran so fast, and when I arrived I saw Wilbur with Phil. Blood oozing from his head because of a very serious head injury. Phil had Wilbur in his lap, holding him close. Philza’s sword was on the ground next to him, it was broken into 2. Phil himself had blood stains all over him from a leg injury and a deep cut on his torso,” told Techno. Dream stared at Techno. He had very basic knowledge of this story from Wilbur or Phil mentioning something about the ‘incident’ from a few years back. He also knew that Techno HATED speaking about it. He turned fully towards Techno.

“Techno you don’t have-” he started but Techno spoke anyway. 

“Something about seeing the leader of those bastards standing in front of Philza and Wilbur with a bloody axe sparked something in me. I can only assume the same thing happened to you when Tommy got hurt. I didn’t feel anything, it’s like I blacked out for a moment. The next thing I knew I was in front of the leader who now had a diamond sword deep in his chest. I didn’t even feel myself moving. The guy collapsed. And all his goons saw and they tried to attack me. I was still out of it so when I fought them I ended up getting quite injured. After I gave one of them a fatal blow they grabbed the guy and ran. I couldn’t even focus on anything, I just kept my eyes on the body. I suddenly couldn’t breathe and I passed out.” said Techno. Dream didn’t miss how his voice got shaky and how he could see Techno’s eyes become glossy, or the slight tremor that ran through his body.

“I woke up in my bed. I remember I got up and headed to Wilbur’s room to make sure he was okay. Phil was there. I was too ashamed to look him in the eye when I entered the room. I said sorry, I got on my hands and knees and begged for his forgiveness while tears rolled down my face. I thought he was going to be so mad. I killed someone, he had to think I was a monster right? Phil didn’t, he hugged me and told me that it wasn’t my fault and that it was okay. I didn’t understand it, why he was forgiving me, I still don’t honestly. He hugged me while I cried into his shoulder. He helped me through the nightmares, he helped me when I was horrified at being near people because I thought I’d lose it again and hurt someone. He was my shoulder to lean on. That’s why I asked you that day, if you wanted me to be your shoulder to lean on. We all need one and I think that we understand what the other has gone through better than anyone else here can. Shits tough. Nightmares suck. As long as you have someone to lean on it gets easier.” said Techno as he sniffled. Dream saw the pink haired male blink rapidly trying to blink his tears away. 

“Now will you tell me what your nightmare was about?” asked Techno. Dream looked at his hands and then the fire. 

“I suppose I should. Your trauma for my trauma,” said Dream. He heard Techno sigh in relief. 

“Go ahead, I’ll still be here even if this takes an hour,” reassured Techno. Dream took a shaky breath. 

“He was there but he already had the sword in his chest,” started Dream. He took a deep breath. 

“He said that I killed him and then he collapsed. I felt sick and turned away from the body and walked away. I uh, looked d-down and there was suddenly an axe in my h-hand,” Dream could feel himself getting worked up. He always found it annoying that nightmares were way easier to remember than dreams. 

“Deep breaths Dream,” said Techno. Dream looked into his blue eyes and Techno stared back into his green ones. They helped ground him and he took a breath. 

“Then I uh, felt a hand on my shoulder,” Dream cut himself off with a sharp gasp and tears came to his eyes as he remembered what happened. He placed a hand over his mouth. Techno perked up at the sudden change. He refrained from touching his shoulder since he didn’t want to recreate whatever happened. He grabbed Dream’s hand gently and nearly cried out when Dream squeezed his hand hard. Now he knew what Phil had to go through when he did the same.

“Go ahead,” said Techno, through gritted teeth. 

“I t-turned around because I thought it was him and I swang my axe.” Dream couldn’t 

hold back anymore, a cry left his throat and tears followed down his cheeks. Techno immediately took action and pulled him into a hug. 

“I didn’t know it was him!” yelled Dream into Techno’s shoulder. 

“Who Dream, who was it?” asked Techno. He needed him to tell him what happened. 

“T-tommy, it was Tommy,” mumbled Dream. Techno did everything he could to prevent himself from tensing. 

“The axe went into his neck, he fucking died. He asked me w-why, and then he collapsed and t-then Tubbo and Wilbur were there. They ran to him and, God, Tubbo clung to him even though he w-was dead, Wilbur stood up, he was so m-mad and tried to a-attack me but I killed him too.” Sobs wracked through his body. 

“Then you came in, you were so mad too, Bad and Skeppy ran over to Tubbo. And Sapnap and George came from behind you. Sapnap called me a s-son of a bitch and tried to attack me but my body moved without me wanting it too and I killed him. You were next, I dug my axe into your skull and you died instantly,” rambled Dream. He was speaking so fast that Techno had to take a few seconds to understand what he said. Dream barely even knew what he was saying, he was just talking, words falling from his lips without permission. 

“I couldn’t even control myself, I just started walking towards Bad and them and then Skeppy stood up and told me to stay back. I wanted to yell at them to run, that I was dangerous, but my mouth wasn’t working, I threw the axe and Skeppy died too. I continued to walk towards them, George stood up in front of them next. I could feel myself fucking smile. Something happened before I could attack George, hands grabbed my arms, and, and, I could hear people screaming my n-name, I tried to get away but I tripped over my foot and fell to the ground. I tried to get free, I clawed at the hands, but nothing worked. I couldn’t breathe, I felt like I was under water, then- then-”

“You woke up,” finished Techno. Dream let out a cry and buried his face into Techno’s shoulder. 

“I didn’t want to h-hurt them, I couldn’t control m-myself,” said Dream. Techno hugged him tighter as he sobbed into his chest. 

“I know Dream, I know.” whispered Techno. He hugged his crying friend. 

“Im sorry, Im sorry, I’m so fucking sorry,” rambled Dream. Techno shushed him.

“It’s not your fault Dream, you didn’t want to hurt them, you didn’t have control.” 

“But-” started Dream. Techno pulled Dream off him and put his hands on his shoulders. 

“No buts, it wasn’t your fault, you didn’t want to. Same thing for Slayer, you didn’t have control. I know you’re not going to believe that right away, I didn’t either, and sometimes I still don’t but you need to know it wasn’t your fault. Any of our friends would agree. You didn’t do anything wrong,” said Techno. Dream attempted to speak again, to deny but nothing came out so he just cried. Techno pulled him back into a hug and they stayed the way. Dream doesn’t know how long he cried but when his tears finally ceased he loosened his death grip on the pink haired male. He sniffed and rubbed his red eyes. 

“You okay?” asked Techno. Dream nodded. 

“KInda c-cold but I feel better,” admitted Dream. Techno gave him a small smile. 

“Makes sense you’re cold, being shirtless in the middle of a blizzard isn’t exactly practical.” joked Techno. Dream gave a breathy chuckle. He felt better, like a weight had been lifted on his already heavy chest. He had months of guilt, pain and other emotions stacked on his chest, choking him but he felt something leave allowing him more space to breathe. 

“Thank you, Techno. You didn’t have to be so open, it really helped though, so thank you for that,” said Dream. 

“It wasn’t a problem,” responded Techno. Techno stood up and looked around. It had gotten colder despite the fire.

“That wasn’t a problem, but this cold is,” said the pig hybrid as he walked towards the dirt wall. Dream looked at him.

“How bad is it out there?” asked Dream. Techno broke one of the dirt blocks and sighed in relief at the lack of snow in the air. The blizzard had seemed to calm down for now. 

“The blizzard seems to have calmed down but it’s still snowing and it's windy so it probably won’t be calm for long. “ explained Techno. 

“Basically, we need to leave before you get frostbite,” said Techno. 

“I’m probably fine,” said Dream. Techno shook his head and walked towards Dream.

“You’re already showing clear signs of hypothermia.” stated Techno. 

“You're literally BAREFOOT and SHIRTLESS in the middle of a blizzard. The only thing you have are shorts and my robe, that’s not good.” Dream grunted. Techno offered him a hand to which he accepted. His knees almost gave out immediately and Techno barely managed to catch him. 

“Looks like I’m carrying you,” said Techno. Dream nodded. He was feeling really tired which was probably from the cold and the fact that it was like 2 am. Techno decided after 5 minutes of trying to get a very drowsy and out of it Dream on his back that he’d just carry him bridal style. He picked the blonde up. Dream laid his head on Techno’s chest and used his arms to keep the robe closed.

“Comfortable?” asked Techno with a smirk. Dream chuckled.

“Comfortable as I can get,” answered Dream. Techno stepped out of the cave and a strong gust of wind hit hard. Dream yelped at the coldness making Techno turn back away from the wind as a last ditch effort to keep the other somewhat warm. He walked through the snow and towards the direction he came. He didn’t know the way back but Dream did. 

“Dream, so help me if you fall asleep,” said Techno. Drema hummed in response.

“Where do I go?” asked Techno. Dream cracked open one of his eyes.

“Straight for about 15 yards...” Dream’s voice trailed off at the end as exhaustion began to take over. Techno noticed and jumped up, jostling the other.

“Fuck you,” mumbled Dream with no real malice.

“Yep, now where do I go?” said Techno after jogging. Dream told him the directions as he fought the wind to stay upright. After around 30 minutes and getting lost because Dream nearly passed out 3 times the lights from the house came into view. Techno looked down and saw Dream’s eyes closing. He jumped again but this time he didn’t get an answer and Dream’s head went completely limp. He panicked and ran towards the house nearly tripping. When he got up to the front door he kicked it hard and it swung open, the hinges screaming in protest. He heard a few surprised yelps along with it. He stepped inside and slammed the door shut with his foot. 

“DREAM!!” yelled Sapnap and George. The two stood up to go see their friend but Techno stopped them.

“No, he’s extremely cold, he needs to be warmed up so everyone here go do something,” said Techno. The whole room was full of worried people and Wilbur stood up. 

“Okay, George and Sapnap go get Dream some warm clothing, hoodies and sweatpants are the better options. Tommy and Tubbo go get some hand towels and a bowl of warm water. Bad and Skeppy one of you get a fire going and the other gather blankets for Techno and Dream.” directed Wilbur. Everyone nodded and ran off to do what they needed to do. Techno walked into the living room and laid Dream down on the couch. He noticed that the tips of Dream’s fingers were a light shade of purple. He grabbed a blanket off the back of the couch and pulled a blanket over him. Wilbur came up from behind and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“How is he, mentally?” asked Wilbur. Techno frowned and looked to the floor shaking his head. 

“It’s not good,” answered Techno sadly. They saw Dream shift. Dream cracked an eye open, his tired green eyes found Techno and wil.

“T-Techno…? Wil…?” asked Dream. 

“Yeah, we’re here, get some sleep,” answered Wilbur. Dream gave them a small smile before his eyes shut once again. Techno sighed and they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Sapnap and George quickly made their way over to Dream. They were carrying a few shirts and a hoodie. George had sweatpants. Techno and Wilbur moved back as Sapnap expertly pulled the clothes over his friend’s shivering form. He was now in a long sleeve shirt, a hoodie and a pair of sweatpants. 

“That’s better,” commented Sapnap. George stepped forwards and laid his mask on the coffee table.

“He might want it when he wakes up,” said George. Techno noticed how Dream’s eyebrows furrowed and couldn’t help but feel bad for him. He had just fallen asleep and he was already having another one. 

“How okay was he with touching?” asked Sapnap.

“I honestly don’t know, he never cares if I touch him. He doesn’t mind when you touch him either right?” explained Techno. Sapnap shrugged. 

“It depends on him,” answered Sap. Techno watched him stand up. Sapnap walked to Dream and lifted him up. He laid down on the couch and pulled Dream on him, so that Dream’s back was on his chest. Techno watched as Dream’s pained face relaxed almost immediately. 

“Wow, you have a gift for that,” commented Skeppy as he walked back into the room, hands full of blankets. Sapnap smiled.

“I’ve known him for a long time, only makes sense that my presence calms him.” said Sapnap. 

“He’s lucky to have you,” said Bad with a smile. Bad added some more wood to the fire and stood up, brushing himself off. 

“Anyone is lucky to have me,” said Sapanp smugly. George scoffed.

“I don’t know how he deals with you,” remarked George. Sapnap flipped him off and refocused on Dream. 

“Yo Skeppy gimme those,” said Sapnap gesturing to the blankets. Bad stood up and took the blankets from Skeppy and began laying them on the two. 

“I don’t want you to jostle him awake with the movement,” said Bad with a smile. 

“Thanks Bad.” Bad finished laying the 2 thick blankets on Dream and Sap and then went over to Techno.

“You should take one to, I can tell you’re cold,” said Bad as he handed the pig hybrid a blanket. Techno accepted the dark blue blanket and wrapped it around his shoulders. 

“Thank you Bad,” thanked Techno. Bad smiled at him brightly and sat down in one of the individual chairs. Tommy and Tubbo came in with a few rags and a bowl of water. 

“Sorry it took long, Tommy split the water,” apologized Tubbo. Tommy shrugged. 

“I slipped, give me a break,” said Tommy as he walked into the room with the rags. Tubbo carefully made his way over to Dream and sat the bowl of warm water on the coffee table and dipped a rag in the water. He squeezed it out the excess water and gently laid it on Dream’s forehead. Dream jumped at the sudden warmth but settled back down. His light snores filled the quiet room. They all watched as Dream mumbled things in his sleep. 

“So… what happened?” asked Tommy. Techno looked at the 16 year old. He had worry in his eyes, an emotion Tommy rarely showed so much. 

“He had a nightmare,” answered Techno. He didn’t want them to know what it was about, it wasn’t his decision to tell them. Tommy glared at him.

“No shit,” remarked Tommy. Techno rolled his eyes.

“He got scared, ran out of the house, pretty sure his fell because his nose was bleeding, found him next to a lake having a breakdown, I helped him calm down, we didn’t know how to get back here so we took shelter in a cave, I attempted to warm him up, the cold became to much of a problem and we needed to leave, got lost a few times on the way back, Dream passed out right when we got to the house, I kicked the door and here we are.” said Techno. 

“Is that enough?” asked Techno sarcastically. He purposely excluded the part where they shared trauma. Tommy huffed and turned away. 

“Did he talk about it?” asked George. He wanted to tell him that he did, it was a big step and he felt they should know. He decided he wouldn’t share what happened but he’d tell them.

“He did.” answered Techno. He saw almost everyone in the room perk up.

“What?” asked Sapnap.

“He actually spoke about it?” asked Wilbur. Techno grumbled.

“Yes, he did, and if even one of you ask me or him about it, I will spawn kill you for HOURS.” threatened Techno. The people in the room shut their mouths immediately since almost everyone was planning on asking about it. Techno yawned. 

“We should go back to sleep,” offered Bad.

“He’s already been through enough and he needs to rest, us talking could wake him up.” said Bad. The others reluctantly agreed. Everyone decided they’d sleep in the living room so everyone got up and grabbed a blanket. Tommy, Tubbo and Wilbur were on the other couch. Skeppy and Bad laid down on the floor. George took one of the individual chairs and Techno did the same. Within minutes the others were asleep but Techno stayed awake. He kept an eye on Dream. He kept remembering the nightmare Dream told him. How he killed almost everyone. He was definitely in need of some help. Techno scowled. He should’ve pressed harder when he had all those other nightmares. If he knew they were that bad he could’ve done something to prevent this. He grunted and sat back in his chair, waiting for the sun to come up.

  
  


Dream’s green eyes fluttered open. Light shined in through the windows. He rubbed his eyes and snuggled up to the warmth under him. Only then did he realize that Sapnap was under him. He smiled at his friend and yawned. He looked around the room. Wilbur, Tommy and Tubbo were all snuggled together on the other couch. Wilbur was in the middle with his arms around the two boys who were snoring. Bad and Skeppy were next to each other on the floor, Skeppy was using Bad’s stomach as a pillow. George was sitting in a chair, legs dangling over the side of the chair, snoring lightly. Dream looked around the room and didn’t see Techno. He raised an eyebrow at his absence but assumed he went to sleep in his bed. He shoved the layers of blankets off and carefully removed Sapnap’s arms from his waist. He stood up and stretched. A dull pain came from his side and he lifted up his hoodie. He had a large purple bruise on his torso from hitting his side. He grunted and pulled his hoodie back down. He stepped over Skeppy and Bad and walked into the kitchen. He went into the cabinets and pulled out some hot chocolate. Dream stood next to the counter as the water began to boil. After it was done he made his drink and took a sip, sighing as the warm liquid soothed his sore throat. 

“Good morning,” said Techno from behind him. Dream jumped at the sudden voice and nearly choked on his drink. Dream turned around and glared at the pig hybrid. Techno looked tired, he had bags under his eyes but so did Dream so he didn’t comment on it. Dream took another sip of his drink.

“How long you been up?” asked Dream. Techno shrugged.

“Didn’t really go back sleep,” answered Techno as he went into the kitchen and fixed a cup of coffee. 

“Figured, those bags aren’t lying,” said Dream. Techno chuckled. 

“How are you doing?” asked Techno. Dream tensed.

“Could be doing better, big bruise on my hip.” responded Dream. He walked into the living room and observed his sleeping friends. Techno stood next to him. Dream sighed.

“Thank you for everything Techno, you didn’t have to tell me that, I’m glad you understand what I’m going through because I honestly don’t think I could do it alone,” thanked Dream. Techno gave him a smile.

“I’ve never told anyone that story, Wilbur doesn’t even know everything that happened because of the head injury he got. I figured you wouldn’t share so I thought I’d give you a boost.” responded Techno. Dream chuckled. 

“I probably would’ve felt like shit if I didn’t share after you said that,” said Dream with a smile. Techno lugahed.

“That was the point,” joked Techno. Dream elbowed him and grinned. He turned his attention back to his friends. Techno told him about how they gathered the stuff needed to warm him up and how they all decided to stay in the living room because they wanted to be close in case of another nightmare. It made him have this warm, fuzzy feeling in his chest that he loved. 

Dream smiled at his friends. They really did so much for him. He really didn’t understand it. He didn’t think he deserved it. 

“They care about you a lot,” said Techno. Dream turned and grinned at him.

“I know,” he said, “I know they do.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there you go! 
> 
> that's really long lmao
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this! I worked really hard on it, so comments and kudos are always appreciated :3
> 
> I love you all! Stay safe and healthy!
> 
> -Ash :)
> 
> WORD COUNT: 7017 HOLY SHIT THATS SO MUCH-


	4. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Have some fluff before the next one :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> heya back at it again with the oneshots!
> 
> y'all get fluff this time bc if I write the next one i have planned its pretty angsty ;)

Dream’s iconic wheeze filled the open air of the forest as they walked. Tommy had tripped and fallen at least 3 times since they started their walk out to the field. Tubbo giggled next to Dream. Tubbo, Tommy, Techno, Wilbur and Dream were on their way to a field Dream had found a while ago on a walk. Bad, George, and Sapnap were at the house planning because Dream said he might be ready to start manhunts again and Skeppy went to visit Mega leaving them all there alone. Somehow, flowers came up in their conversation and now they’re on their way to a flower field. Techno and Tubbo were talking about flowers they picked on the SMP. 

“I found a whole field of flowers on the SMP! I’ve been meaning to find one here but never got around to it!” said Tubbo. Dream chuckled.

“I figured you’d like knowing about it,” said Dream. Tubbo smiled brightly at him and turned to help Tommy up. 

“Where did you find this field anyway? It’s pretty far from the house.” asked Wilbur. Dream shrugged. He’d actually found it on a walk after a rough night. He and Sap went to get some fresh air and they walked longer than expected and then boom, they found a flower field. 

“Me and Sap were on a walk one morning and we just so happened to stumble upon it,” answered Dream. 

“How lucky,” commented Tcehno. Tommy huffed.

“Why’d I even have to come? I don’t give a shit about any of this,” complained Tommy. 

“Because we 5 are the only ones not doing anything, it only made sense to get out of the house,” answered WIlbur. 

“Exactly Tomathy.” joked Dream. Tommy cursed him out which had the group laughing once again. Tubbo suddenly gasped getting everyone’s attention. 

“We’re here!!” exclaimed Tubbo excitedly. He grabbed Tommy’s wrist and ran towards the field almost making the taller boy fall. 

“Fuck Tubbo, I’m gonna fall!” screamed Tommy. Dream snorted.

“You’ve already fallen like 6 times what’s the difference with this one?” asked Dream sarcastically. Tommy flipped him off as Tubbo continued to run. Dream, Wilbur and techno stopped along the edge of the field. 

“Wow. It’s gorgeous.” commented Wilbur. The field was filled with dozens of different types of flowers. There were clusters of colors everywhere. The sun had started going down a while they walked giving the field a golden hue. There was a lake in the field as well, the water glistened in the sunlight. 

“It is,” agreed Techno. 

“Guys! Come look!” called Tubbo. Wilbur waved saying he’d be there. They all made their way over to Tubbo and Tommy who were staring at something in awe. 

“What’d you find?” asked Dream. Tubbo smiled and lifted something up. Wilbur nearly ran away instead choosing to take cover behind Dream. Dream nearly kicked Wilbur out of instinct but managed to hold himself back. Techno stared at it with awe like Tommy and Tubbo. Dream smiled. Tubbo had a small snake coiling around his wrist. It was green and frankly quite pretty. 

“I found it hiding in the grass!” said Tubbo. Techno stepped forwards and held his hand out for the small reptile. It slithered onto his hand and coiled his fingers. 

“It’s so pretty,” commented Dream. Wilbur backed away again and everyone turned to him.

“Wilbur hates snakes,” provided Techno. Dream held back a laugh. 

“You're scared of this tiny thing?” asked Dream with a smile. Wilbur blushed red.

“Oh fuck off, doesn’t matter how small it is, it still has a mouth of teeth.” said Wilbur. Dream and Tommy almost died of laughter after that. An idea struck Tommy and he took the snake from Techno. 

“Oh Wilbur!” yelled Tommy as he got closer and closer to the older male. 

“Don’t you fucking dare Tommy,” said Wilbur. The 16 year old smirked and dashed towards Wilbur. Wilbur immediately turned around and ran, Tommy not far behind because of his height. Dream and Tubbo were giggling as Wilbur screamed when Tommy got really close. Techno rolled his eyes despite smiling at his friends. He turned round and picked up a flower off the ground. It was a simple poppy but it was quite pretty. Tcehno placed it gently in a half filled water bottle and sat it down on the sand near the water. Tubbo joined him on the sand, Dream stayed in the grass and began to look around. He walked through the tall grass, dragging his fingers over it. Flowers of all colors were around him. He smiled when he saw rabbits hopping through it. There was a horse not far away and he walked towards it while the others did their thing. The horse saw him and huffed defensively. Dream raised his arms in surrender. The horse was black and laying in the grass so only her back and head could be seen. He walked towards her and his eyes widened when he saw the large gash in her leg. 

“Oh no,” he said and kneeled down. The horse snapped at him and he backed up. 

“It’s okay. Don’t worry, I just want to help.” said Dream with a gentle voice. He reached out and placed a hand on the top of her neck, running his fingers through her black maine. She relaxed and accepted his affection. He removed his hand and took off his bag. He laid it on the ground and went through it eventually pulling out some bandages, gause and a water bottle. He wet some of the gause and gently rubbed the dry blood off from the skin around the wound. The horse almost kicked him but he just barely managed to move. 

“It’s okay. I’m trying to help,” said Dream. He knew she probably didn’t understand what she was saying but he had the habit of saying comforting words in a situation like this. He wasn’t the only one who had nightmares. The horse calmed down when he finished and he grabbed some dry gauze and laid it on the wound. He picked up the bandages and wrapped them tightly around the wound. The horse kicked at him again but didn’t miss this time. Her hoof hit his face and his mask broke off. He clutched his bleeding nose from his place and the ground and sat up. 

“Ow…” he mumbled. He shot the horse a look when he saw his mask broken in half, she snorted at him in response. He rolled his eyes and wiped the blood from his nose. After he secured the bandages he tried to get the horse to stand. It was getting dark so he figured he’d make his way back to the others. She reluctantly stood, almost falling over when she put pressure on her leg but Dream steadied her the best he could. 

“It’s not far, I don’t want to leave you here to be attacked again,” said Dream. He assumed a mob probably did it. He guided her through the field. Dream saw the others on the sand and made his way there. They had gotten a fire started and it smelt like they were cooking beef maybe. 

“Heya guys,” said Dream as he got closer. He stopped behind them.

“Hey Dream-” started WIlbur but cut himself off when he saw the black horse behind him and his bleeding face.

“The hell happened to you?” asked Tommy. 

“Horse kicked me,” responded Dream. Tommy nearly burst out laughing.

“Move over,” said Dream to Wilbur. Wilbur moved and Dream walked her onto the sand. She laid down and Dream sat next to her. 

“I found her lying in the grass over there, she was hurt.” explained Dream. 

“She’s beautiful,” said Techno as he stood up and crouched down in front of the horse. He gently rubbed her neck. He also passed Dream a tissue for his nose. 

“Ah, I forgot you had a whole thing with horses on the SMP,” commented Tommy. Techno just turned around and stared at him. 

“They’re better than people that’s why,” said Techno. Tommy groaned. 

“The snake’s better anyway,” said Tommy. Tubbo lifted the snake in his hand. 

“You still have it?” asked Dream. Tubbo smiled.

“Yeah! He’s really pretty and won’t let go of my hand.” chuckled Tubbo. Dream smiled. Wilbur glared at the reptile with pure hate. Dream rolled his eyes, a sudden weight on his lap distracted him. He looked down and saw that the horse had laid her head down in her lap. Dream grinned and rubbed her neck. 

“Aw,” said Tubbo. 

“That’s sweet,” commented Wilbur. Dream chuckled. 

“Food’s done,” said Tommy. Techno stood up and removed the steak from above the fire. The smell of freshly cooked steak filled the air. He gave everyone a piece of steak and they all sat there eating it. Techno and Tubbo talked about the flowers they got. It was completely dark now and the stars were out. It was a beautiful night. Wilbur pulled out his guitar and plucked the strings. He continued to do that eventually plucking the rhythm of “What A Wonderful World” and he began to sing.

  
  


_ I see trees of green _

_ Red roses too _

_ I see them bloom _

_ For me and you _

_ And I think to myself _

_ What a wonderful world _

_ I see skies of blue _

_ And clouds of white _

_ The bright blessed day _

_ The dark sacred night _

_ And I think to myself _

_ What a wonderful world _

_ The colors of the rainbow _

_ So pretty in the sky _

_ Are also on the faces _

_ Of people going by _

_ I see friends shaking hands _

_ Saying, "How do you do?" _

_ They're really saying _

_ "I love you" _

_ I hear babies cry _

_ I watch them grow _

_ They'll learn much more _

_ Than I'll never know _

_ And I think to myself _

_ What a wonderful world _

_ Yes, I think to myself _

_ What a wonderful world _

_ Oh yeah _

  
  


Wilbur finished and plucked the final chords of the song. Tubbo had passed out on Tommy’s shoulder, Tommy was the only thing keeping him from falling backwards. No one spoke after that only the sounds of mobs and bugs filled the air. It was peaceful. Tommy was too tired to speak really, they had walked for a good 3 or 4 hours to get here so they were all quite tired. Wilbur noticed Tommy trying to stay awake so Tubbo wouldn’t fall and he laid his guitar on the ground and moved next to him. He lifted Tubbo off of Tommy.

“Lay down,” said Wilbur. Tommy did just that and was out in a matter of seconds. He was on his back so Wilbur laid Tubbo’s head on Tommy’s stomach as a pillow. Tommy’s light snores filled the air. Dream yawned.

“Tired?” asked Techno. Dream nodded.

“We all are,” said Wilbur. Techno was sitting in front of a rock so he leaned back and closed his eyes. WIlbur was next. He joined Techno on the rock, also preferring back support than sand. Dream smiled at his friends. He looked down at the horse and then to the fire. She had the same color as the ash on the fire.

“I think I’ll call you Ash.” said Dream as he rubbed behind her ear. He yawned again and stood up. He sat on the other side of the horse and leaned back on her stomach. The horse turned her head and laid it on his lap. He smiled and rested and hand on her head. Dream too was out in a matter of seconds. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> It was fun to write which was surprising since im an angst writer :)
> 
> And one of my friends commented on how the horse would've broken his nose and I knew that i just wanted to clarify it!
> 
> I said in one of my duel chapters that normal minecraft gamemode wouldn't allow such minor specific injuries but hardcore did and since their in normal a broken nose wouldn't really happen :)
> 
> That was a fun little detail i liekd adding :D
> 
> I'll have an alt or another oneshot done soon! :D
> 
> Love y'all! 
> 
> -Ash :)
> 
> WORD COUNT: 1920


	5. Chicken :)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New ones out! Pog! 
> 
> Before you read this idea wasn't completely mine!
> 
> Got the whole chicken idea from someone in the comments! Id been planning on doing something like this for a while i just didn't know how it'd get brought up i guess. Basically their idea was a big help! :)
> 
> Bean_Xo was the person i got the idea from!
> 
> Hope u like the angst!
> 
> I'm kinda iffy about the ending of this one honestly but i hope u guys enjoy it! :D

“What should we eat?” asked Bad. As he began to prepare dinner. 

“I’m starving so anything works,” answered Sapnap. Hums of agreement filled the room. They all just got back to the house a little less than an hour ago. They’d spent most of the day sparing and mining. So they were all tired and hungry. Bad rolled his eyes but went to the chest where the meat was stored. He shuffled through it but frowned when he only found chicken. 

“Guys, we have a problem,” said Bad when he walked into the living room.

“What is it?” asked Techno. 

“We only have chicken,” answered Bad. Tommy sat up.

“What’s wrong with chicken,” asked the 16 year old. 

“Dream said he didn’t like chicken not too long ago right?” asked Wilbur. Bad nodded.

“Yeah he said something about not wanting to eat it anymore for some unknown reason that he won’t share,” answered George sarcastically. Sapnap shrugged.

“I think he’d be fine with it since we don’t exactly have any other options,” said Sapnap. 

“I think he can put up,” agreed Wilbur.

“Plus he’s not down here to argue about it so I think you should take the opportunity,” said Skeppy with a smirk. Bad thought about before smiling. 

“Yeah, It should be fine,” said Bad as he walked back into the kitchen to prepare the food. 

(FOOLS)

Dream yawned as he walked into his room. He threw his towel into the corner of the room and threw on a hoodie. He was currently wearing gym shorts and now a navy green hoodie. He picked up his mask off the dresser and gently placed it onto his face. Dream opened his door and walked down the stairs reaching the living room quickly. Sapnap waved. 

“Sup,” said Wilbur. Dream yawned. 

“Sup,” responded Dream. He walked over to the couch. Sapnap was on the couch talking to George who was on another chair. Dream flopped down on the couch laying his feet on Sapnap’s lap. Sap turned to him and raised an eyebrow.

“Excuse me?” asked Sap. Dream rolled his eyes under his mask even though no one could see it. 

“I'm tired,” whined Dream. It was Sapnap’s turn to roll his eyes and he went back to talking to George about something. Dream smiled and closed his eyes. 

“Big D!” yelled Tommy as he entered the room, Tubbo following behind him. Dream groaned.

“I told you to stop calling me that Tommy,” said Dream.

“Sorry Big man,” apologized Tommy. The two boys walked over to Dream and stopped. Dream still has his eyes closed so when he felt their eyes on him he opened them and looked at them. 

“You two need something?” asked Dream. Tommy smirked. Dream heard quiet snickers from a few other people in the room too. He raised his eyebrows before Tubbo lightly tapped his shoulder. 

“You’re it,” said Tommy. The room went silent for a moment as Dream stared at him with a straight face. As soon as Dream smirked almost everyone in the room ran for the back door. Dream was fast and everyone here knew that. He sat up and grabbed the back of Sapnap’s shirt after the younger had trouble getting up because Dream’s feet were on him. 

“Tag,” said Dream. Sapnap groaned and turned to try to get someone else since no tag backs were aloud. Everyone had already made it outside and Sapanp dashed for George. George screamed and ran away. Dream wheezed, knees nearly giving out. The next 15 minutes were them all running around screaming. Dream sat out pretty early after his lungs began to burn from all his laughing and the running combined. He joined Techno on the porch and the two had their own conversation. Dream heard the door open and Bad stepped out. 

“Food’s ready!” yelled Bad. Cheers were heard from Tommy and a few others as they hurriedly made their way back to the door. Dream and Techno were in last, and they walked into the kitchen. Dream smelt the air. Bad was probably one of their best cooks so it was always nice walking into the kitchen after he was done cooking. Dream smelt all sorts of food, potatoes, soup and chicken. He froze when the realization of what Bad made hit. His head snapped towards the table and sure enough chicken sat on everyone’s plate. His throat went dry, He hated chicken ever since the duel. It was what he made Dream eat, Memories of that plagued his thoughts. He felt scared but then sudden, unexpected feelings of anger came. 

“Why did you cook chicken Bad.” said Dream. Bad turned to him. 

“Oh I’m sorry Dream, I know you said you weren’t a big fan of chicken but it's all we had,” explained Bad. Sapnap noticed how dream stood still and how his fists were clenched. He stood up.

“Dream?” he asked. That got the others attention and they watched Dream with curious and worried expressions. Sapnap reached out to touch his shoulder but Dream roughly slapped his hand away making Sapnap jump. 

“I do NOT like chicken.” said Dream, voice cold. The others stared at him in shock. Dream felt a small pang of guilt but the anger consumed it almost immediately. He told them. He told them to not make chicken anymore. I was a simple ask. He felt so scared even though he was in a room with his family basically. 

“Woah Dream, what is wrong with you?” asked George. Dream remained silent. His emotions were all over the place and he was so scared of saying the wrong thing but he felt words leave his mouth without permission. 

“I asked one simple fucking thing. Do not cook chicken.” said Dream. The others froze at his tone. It was scary and no one had heard it in a while but they couldn't help feeling annoyed.

“It’s just chicken Dream, jeez,” remarked Tommy. Dream felt something in him snap after that. 

“It’s just chicken? You don’t fucking understand Tommy, so shut the hell up,” spat Dream. Tommy flinched at his words and stared at him. Wilbur stood up but Techno grabbed his wrist. 

“Dream. Calm down,” said Techno, voice calm and unbothered. Dream glared at him through his mask, he could feel tears come to his eyes. 

“Calm down? Calm down?! I asked a simple fucking thing!” yelled Dream. He couldn’t stop the words. He wanted to stop but he felt trapped all of a sudden and the words just fell from his lips without thought or reason. God he was so scared. 

“Dude! What the hell is wrong with you!?” yelled Sapnap. Dream visibly flinched at his words.  He gripped the front of his shirt as it became harder to breathe. More memories came back, his screams, the pain, the AGONY, the feeling of meat being shoved down his throat because he was too weak to move, his laugh, god his cruel, sadistic laugh. Dream gripped his hair with one of his hands. Techno noticed and stood up. Dream was never one to lash out, especially after the Slayer incident. He took out his anger in other ways like sparing or talking with Techno. This behavior was too unprecedented to be normal for him. Something is causing him to act this way and he feels like there's more to it than just not liking chicken. He reached out to touch Dream’s shoulder. When he did, Dream gasped and threw himself away from the hand. Dream never did that with Techno.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” spat Dream. 

“Dream! It’s fucking chicken!” yelled Skeppy. Techno watched as Dream grit his teeth. Dream was about to snap. 

“You’re acting like a child,” scolded Wilbur. 

“Wilbur stop yelling. All of you stop yelling,” said Techno. Dream ignored him.

“Shut the fuck up Wilbur! You don’t understand! You don’t fucking understand anything!” screamed Dream. 

“What do I not understand?! You’re being extremely immature bout a piece of fucking meat!” yelled Wilbur. Wilbur got closer to Dream, the two were maybe 4 or 5 feet apart. Dream detested how close he was. Wilbur just so happened to be the only person in the house who was taller than him and that was horrifying to him. Dream backed up but he foot hit the wall behind him and panic sparked into his gut. Wilbur raised his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose but Dream took the gesture a completely different way. He felt trapped, his brain short circuited. He couldn’t tell if it was Slayer or Wilbur in front of him as his rational thought disappeared because of the fear and panic he was feeling. Suddenly he was back in the forest, Slayer towering over him. He felt like a cornered animal. And he did what any animal would do, he fought back. Techno saw how Dream’s feet changed and how he reached behind his back. He knew what was going to happen so he grabbed WIlbur’s arm in an attempt to pull him back. 

“What-” said Wilbur. A dagger barely missed Wilbur’s face, instead it hit the wooden wall with a thunk. It sliced through the top layer of skin on his cheek, a small stream of blood ran down WIlbur’s cheek and his eyes were wide. The room went silent after that. They all stared at Dream in shock. His breathing was ragged. His eyes were wide. Techno glared at Wilbur with a stare that could kill. Techno walked towards Dream with his arms raised. Dream backed even further into the wall.   
“It's okay Dream, it's me,” said Techno calmly. Dream's breathing was still erratic but he slowly came back to reality and what he did finally began to settle in. Dream wanted to apologize, he didn't want to say all those things and he sure as hell didn't want to throw a dagger at his friend. Dream felt himself begin to break. 

“Why didn’t you just listen,” whispered Dream. His voice cracked at the end of his sentence. Despite his feelings of guilt his anger was definitely still there. He turned around and walked towards the door. 

“Dream wait,” said Techno. 

“Fuck off,” said Dream as he slammed the door behind him. Techno was the only one who saw the tears go down his cheeks. The room stayed completely silent. Bad was standing in the kitchen, squeezing his arm, Skeppy next to him with a hand on his shoulder. Wilbur was still standing, face still one of shock. Tommy and Tubbo stared at Wilbur with wide eyes. George was standing next to Sapnap with worried faces. Techno turned to Wilbur.

“Wilbur.” said Techno. Wilbur turned to him. 

“What about stop yelling did you not understand?” asked Techno, voice deep. 

“He was being rude to the others,” said Wilbur defensively. Techno grumbled and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You still didn’t have to get so fucking close,” snarled Techno. Wilbur backed up at his tone.

“Every single one of us here knows Dream doesn’t lash out, especially after Slayer, which means he probably had his reasons for it but you all yelling at him was not helping.” said Techno. Wilbur looked away. Techno sighed. 

“It’s getting dark, we should look for him. I don’t care if you’re mad,” said Techno with an annoyed voice as he headed towards the door.

  
  
  


Dream gripped his hair tighter as warm tears rolled down his face. His mask was laying on the ground, cracked after he threw it at the ground. He fled to the roof not long after running out the front door. 

“Dammit, “ cursed Dream. His lungs were on fire from his sobbing and coughing. He was so tired and hungry. He missed his friends. It had been a good hour since the events went down but Dream’s emotions were still overflowing. He was so mad at first but that feeling subsided and guilt, shame and fear settled into his gut. He let out another sob, his throat retaliated by sending him into a coughing fit. It was night now, the air was cool which wasn’t helping his lungs and the chill was beginning to get through his clothing. He let out another cry, his knees hurt from sitting on them for so long but he couldn’t find the strength to move. He couldn’t get those stupid flashbacks to go away either. He sputtered and hacked after letting out another sob. He was so caught up trying to catch his breath he didn’t notice the hatch opening and 8 people climbing onto the roof. Techno stared at him with hurt eyes. Wilbur felt intense and painful guilt settle into his chest as he watched Dream sob. Tommy hugged Tubbo after he latched onto Tommy at the broken sight of his friend. Tommy himself averted his eyes after feeling tears come to them. George and Skeppy were comforting Bad as tears ran down his face from guilt. Sapnap wanted nothing more than to go embrace his friend but when he moved Techno grabbed his arm. 

“Wait here,” said Techno. Dream coughed again. He let out a choked sob. Suddenly he felt arms wrap around him and he flinched away from them but the arms kept him close. He pushed against Techno’s chest. 

“Calm down Dream,” said Techno calmly. The others watched as Dream looked up at Techno and let out another sob before quickly wrapping his arms around Techno’s waist and burying his head into his shoulder. Wilbur looked away.

“Shit,” cursed Wilbur, as tears came to his eyes. Tommy put a hand on his shoulder. ANother coughing fit erupted from Dream and Techno snapped his fingers telling whoever had some water to bring it. Tubbo pulled out a bottle and cautiously walked over to them some of teh others followed close behind and sat around Dream and Techno. Techno gently took the bottle from the boy’s hands. Dream’s head was still in his shoulder. 

“Dream, can you lift up your head? You need water or you’re going to pass out,” asked Techno. Dream’s breathing was erratic, and coming out in short gasps, he couldn’t get a good breath in and that would make him pass out after a while. He was honestly surprised he hadn’t passed out yet. When Dream didn’t move Techno sat the bottle down and gently pulled Dream away from his chest. Dream’s hand covered his mouth as he coughed once again, eyes screwed shut because of the pain. Techno pulled the cork out of the bottle. Dream’s green eyes opened for a second and he made eye contact with WIlbur and his eyes widened and he tried to move but Techno put a hand on his shoulder. Techno stared into his eyes trying to ground him. Dream had tears running down his face, his cheeks were flushed red, eyes bloodshot. 

“Dream, no one here is mad, calm down,” whispered Techno as he continued to stare into Dream’s eyes. Dream inhaled and coughed loudly. Techno held the water in front of him and Dream took it with shaky hands. He brought the bottle to lips and attempted to drink but Techno grabbed the back of the bottle.

“Small sips, you don’t want to choke,” saiid Techno. Dream took a small sip, the little bit of water barely soothing his throat but it made a difference so he took another. The others watched as Dream slowly calmed down. After maybe 10 or 15 minutes Dream had ceased crying, only having drying tear tracks going down his eyes. He wiped at his face, and looked down at the ground eyes lingering on the scars on his leg. He closed his eyes. 

“I’m s-sory,” he rasped out, “I didn’t k-know what I was saying. I was just so m-mad and I couldn’t-” apologized Dream but a painful cough cut him off. Bad stood up and kneeled down next to Dream. 

“Can I touch you?” asked Bad, Dream, too scared of saying no, nodded. Bad wrapped his arms around him. 

“It’s not your fault Dream, I should’ve never assumed that it’d be okay cooking that especially after you said not to,” said Bad. Dream sniffled and much to everyone’s surprise he hugged Bad back. Physical contact was still a rare thing for Dream.

“You didn’t know,” mumbled Dream. Bad hugged him back tightly before releasing him and moving back to his seat. Dream eyed Techno’s hand before grabbing it. (PLATONIC HAND HOLDING BC HELL YEAH) Techno squeezed his hand back. 

“Dream, god, I’m so fucking sorry,” said Wilbur. Dream turned to him. 

“I shouldn’t have yelled, goddammit, I’m sorry Dream,” apologized Wilbur. Dream looked at Techno and tapped the spot next to him. Techno raised his eyebrow before understanding. Techno turned to Wilbur. 

“He wants you to come here,” said Techno. Wilbur’s eyes widened in surprise. Tommy gave his shoulder a small shove.

“Go,” whispered Tommy. Wilbur stood up and walked over to Dream, kneeling down next to him. Dream let go of Techno’s hand and wrapped his arms around Wilbur’s neck. Wilbur sat there in shock for a moment before cautiously wrapping his arms around Dream’s back. 

“It’s okay, I’m sorry for throwing a knife at you,” mumbled Dream. Wilbur felt tears come to his eyes and he hugged Dream tighter and continued to whisper sorrys in his ear. The two separated and Wilbur smiled at him before moving back. Sapnap, Skeppy, and Tommy apologized for yelling at him next, he forgave them instantly saying they didn’t know and he apologized for yelling at them right after. It was now silent. Techno eyed Dream. He couldn’t help but wonder what the hell caused Dream to lash out. 

“Dream?” he asked. Dream looked away from the ground and at Techno. 

“Why did you lash out?” asked Techno. Dream’s eyes widened at his question. The others head’s perked up at the question as well. Dream looked back towards the ground. He could feel all their piercing stares and he closed his eyes. Dream reached forward and grabbed Techno’s hand again. 

“Is it because of the duel?” asked Sapnap. Dream nodded and the others felt their uneasiness grow. 

“Do you want to tell us?” asked George. Dream was going to shake his head but he felt like he owed them especially after being so cruel. 

“I don’t know if I can,” mumbled Dream. 

“Is it bad?” asked Techno. Dream nodded. 

“Painful,” was all Dream said. Everyone made eye contact with each other. 

“It’s okay if you can’t get through it, we’ll wait,” said Techno. He wasn’t a big fan that everyone was here as he and Dream were normally alone during these types of things. Dream sniffled and cleared his throat. 

“Do you remember when me and h-him got off the main field? When we disappeared into the treeline?” asked Dream. He got 8 yes’s before continuing. 

“We were fighting and we were both exhausted. He said something along the lines of going back and hurting you guys after he pulled out an ender pearl and I lunged at him but he turned around and punched me. He said how you guys were my biggest weakness,” said Dream. His voice started getting shaky, tremors ran through his body as he remembered everything that happened. Techno noticed Dream getting worked up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Deep breaths, it’s okay, you’re not there,” reassured Techno. Dream looked at him and took a few deep breaths before continuing.

“H-he drank a strength potion, and a swiftness. I tried to run knowing I wouldn’t be able to beat him with strength but he got in front of me. He punched me in the face again and I fell to the ground, and my mask fell off. He kicked me in the chest next and broke a rib.” said Dream, voice cracking multiple times through it. He was gripping Techno’s hand so tight. They all sat and listened. 

“He pulled c-chicken out of his inventory and told me to eat it. He said it was no fun if they d-died too fast. I said n-no and he slammed his foot onto my ribs and broke 2 more. He shoved it down my throat. After I ate some of it he kicked me in the side again. I coughed up more blood. I t-tired to move but he punched me in the face again and I fell back to the ground. I got kicked in the side again. He seemed to get distracted by a noise maybe, and I t-tried to run again but he caught up and dragged me b-back and cut my calf so I had trouble running. He made me heal again. He kept making me heal. It was a fucking cycle, beat the shit out of me, heal and the repeat,” rasped Dream. He put a hand over his mouth. He ignored all the looks of absolute horror on their faces. He felt tears go down his face. 

“It hurt so much, it hurt so much, I could feel every broken bone shift when he kicked me. I remember how I was too weak to eat the chicken at one point and he shoved it down my throat, I remember it all. The broken ribs, the punctured lung, how much it hurt to breathe, I- I-,” rambled Dream. Techno pulled him into a hug, a look of shock, and fear sewn into his features. He knew it was probably bad, but that was so much worse than he expected. Dream shook violently in his arms and tears started going down his face. 

“Oh my god…” said Sapnap as he put a hand over his mouth. George sat next to Sap, he had tears running down his face. Skeppy was hugging Bad tightly as the other cried into his shoulder. Skeppy tried everything in his power to hold back his tears but they fell anway. Wilbur sat there with a blank expression, eyes almost dead like as he took in what Dream told them about. Tubbo had his face buried into his hands as he cried. Tommy hugged himself, as memories came back. He remembered when he and Bad found him in the woods. He looked like he’d had the shit beaten out of him but he was so happy that he was alive to really think about how it could have happened. He thought back to when Dream lifted up his hoodie in storage and he had the large bruises and then when he asked he almost had a panic attack. It all made so much more sense now. The chicken, it was a trigger to what had happened which is why he freaked out so much. A sob slipped from Dream’s lips and Techno squeezed him tighter. TEchno may have his own trauma and bullshit but he never went through stuff like that. He didn’t know how Dream felt. How the hell did Dream keep this to himself for so long? It was probably eating away at him. The nightmares Dream never explained to Techno no matter what he did. It all made so much more sense. Another sob from Dream knocked him out of his head. It was chilly on the roof despite the torches they had. Techno continued to hug Dream as he cried. 

“It’s okay Dream, you’re not there anymore,” whispered Techno. Sapnap got up and sat next to Dream. He put a hand on his shoulder. Everyone sat around him, they wanted to do something, anything, but Dream wasn’t comfortable with physical contact and they didn’t want him to spiral because of sudden contact. They went through that once, it wasn’t a good experience. Dream whispered something and Techno raised his eyebrows. 

“What?” asked Techno. 

“Hug,” was all Dream managed to say through his tears and coughing. Techno looked at everyone. 

“If I’m not wrong, he wants a hug,” said Techno, disbelief in his voice. The other perked up at the opportunity and Tommy immediately dashed forwards and wrapped his long arms around Dream. Sapnap was next. The others slowly filled in, some having to hug Techno as well since Dream didn’t let go of Techno. They all sat there comforting Dream without speaking. Dream’s sobs turned into sniffles after a while then stopped completely, quiet snores filling the quiet air. Everyone pulled back once they realized he was asleep. 

“He’s probably exhausted,” said Techno.

“It only makes sense, he basically had two panic attacks,” said WIlbur. 

“We should get him inside,” said George. Techno hummed in agreement and picked Dream up bridal style and made his way to the trapdoor. He stopped in front of it. 

“Can someone make this easier?” asked Techno. Tommy and Skeppy got pickaxes from their inventory and mined the blacks around the door. Tubbo made a staircase down with cobble and Techno walked Dream to his room. The others following. Techno walked inside and laid him down on his bed, pulling the sheets up to his chest. Techno sighed. 

“Let’s go, we don’t want to wake him up,” said Wilbur. Techno nodded. He felt something grab the bottom of his shirt and he turned around to see Dream’s eyes cracked open. They were dull and the bags under his eyes weren’t helping him look any better. 

“Stay…” mumbled Dream. Techno nodded. Dream lifted his other hand and made grabby hands towards Sapnap who got what he meant immediately. Sapnap walked over and got in bed next to Dream who immediately snuggled into his chest. Techno sat on the other side of the bed and left a reassuring hand on Dream’s arm. The other smiled at the sight and turned to leave. 

“All… stay?” whispered Dream. 

“Guys, he wants everyone to stay,” said Sapnap. They all stopped and turned around finding places to settle on the floor. 

“Don’t want you to get hurt while I sleep…” mumbled Dream. They gave him pity looks because he was still worried about them getting hurt. Sapnap ran his fingers through Dream’s blonde hair.

“It’s okay Dream, no one is going to hurt us while you’re asleep.” said Techno. Dream’s eyes began to droop.

“Love you… guys…” mumbled Dream. Everyone settled onto the floor. Tommy was sitting on the ground at the foot of the bed next to Tubbo. Wilbur was at Dream’s desk chair. George sat on the foot of his bed. Bad and Skeppy were in front of the closet. They all smiled at his words.

“We love you too Dream, '' said George. Even though his eyes were closed and he was basically falling asleep, Dream smiled. They were all out like lights in a matter of minutes. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> Sry if anything seemed rushed i was having trouble finding a way to end it :)
> 
> Either way, I really enjoyed writing this so I hope you enjoyed reading it! 
> 
> I'm working on a gift for someone at the moment so they're won't be a oneshot or alt for a few days! 
> 
> I'll be posting the gift tho and it'll be angsty so :))))))
> 
> thank you for reading! I love you all! :D
> 
> -Ash :)
> 
> ALSO I know I didn't really specify chicken that much in the actual chapter, but it was chicken that he forced him to eat! I only stated it like once in the chapter lol hope its not confusing :)
> 
> WORD COUNT: 4443 this pisses me off


	6. Sleeping is scary

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tommy and Dre are struggling.
> 
> TW: nightmares, panic attacks and such

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's up guys
> 
> Sorry for the lack of posting! its the end of the quarter for me before my 6 week break! Y'all can expect writing to be coming more regularly after my break starts :)))))
> 
> This took way longer than it should have bc of school and shit lol
> 
> Hope you enjoy it anyways! I'm kinda iffy on it haha

Dream woke up with a jolt. He felt something on both sides of him and he looked. Techno was on his right, an arm wrapped around his waist. He turned to the other side to see Tommy hugging his waist. Dream had his own arms around Tommy. The memories of what happened began to fill in as he woke up. Tommy had a really bad nightmare and woke up screaming. Dream, who was already awake and with Techno downstairs after his own nightmare, ran into the room. They had managed to calm the boy down but he was horrified of being alone so they stayed. Tommy had fallen asleep next to Dream and Techno fell asleep next to Dream. Dream yawned and Techno shifted. Dream watched as his eyes flickered open. 

“Sorry I woke you,” whispered Dream. Techno yawned. 

“It’s fine,” said Techno. Dream looked down at Tommy. Their nightmares had been getting really bad recently. The date of the Slayer incident was nearing. It had almost been a year since it had happened. Dream had woken up a total of 3 times screaming this week and he had a nightmare almost every night. Same with Tommy. They both hadn’t gotten enough sleep at all recently which was probably another factor to the nightmares. Techno looked over at Dream and Tommy. Dream had some serious bags under his eyes. Tommy’s were still pretty visible but Dream’s were horrible. All those nights where Tommy would have a nightmare Dream would be the one to help him, he’d stay awake all night sometimes just to make sure the boy had someone there who could wake him up if he had another nightmare because just like how Dream had Techno, Tommy had Dream. Good for Tommy, awful for Dream. Techno removed his arm from around Dream’s waist and stood up. Dream looked like he was thinking about getting up but Techno put a hand on his shoulder. 

“Get some more sleep, Dream, you know you need it.” said Techno. Dream could tell he wasn’t asking so he nodded and laid his head back on Tommy’s. Techno sighed in relief when he heard Dream quiet snores. He opened the door and nearly screamed at the bright sun that nearly blinded him. Tommy’s room was rather dark since Tommy broke his window and cobble was keeping his room closed off from the cold. They were out of sand and decided they’d just use cobble. Techno blinked a few times, letting his eyes adjust to the light. He yawned again and made his way down stairs. It seemed to be pretty late so he assumed everyone else was awake. He walked downstairs to an actually quiet living room. 

“Wow, been a while since a morning has been this quiet.” commented Techno as he walked into the room. Wilbur looked up from his book. 

“Yeah, it’s nice,” agreed Wilbur. The room was almost silent if it wasn’t for the quiet chatter in the room form George, Sapnap, Skeppy and Bad. Tubbo was with his bees on the couch. Techno yawned and joined the boy. 

“Good morning!” said Tubbo. Techno smiled at him.

“Good morning to you as well Tubbo.” responded Techno as he gently stroked one of the large fluffy bees. Sapnap turned to him.

“Is Dream still with him?” asked Spanap. Techno looked at him, he noticed how everyone else in the room looked at him as well. They all wanted answers. 

“Yeah. He woke up at the same time as me but I told him to go back to sleep.” said Techno. Sapnap nodded.

“How is Tommy?” asked Wilbur. Techno shrugged. 

“Just another bad nightmare. Thankfully me and Dream were already up.”   
“You two were already up?” asked George.

“Yeah, Dream had a nightmare earlier in the night and we were down here when Tommy had his.” said Techno. 

“Damn, those two are having it rough right now,” said Skeppy. Techno only nodded.

“It’s because the date it happened is coming up and neither of them have been getting enough sleep, especially Dream.” explained Techno.

“Why especially Dream?” asked Bad. 

“Dream has been helping Tommy through most of his nightmares and he stays awake to make sure he doesn’t wake up again. He doesn’t sleep very much.” answered Techno. 

“What?!” yelled George.

“And you just let him?” asked Bad.

“You act like he’d listen to me or something.” the room went quiet after that. They suddenly heard footsteps on the stairs and a few seconds later Dream appeared. So much for sleeping more. 

“Good morning,” said Dream, mid yawn. 

“What happened to getting more sleep?” asked Techno. Dream shrugged. 

“I was but Tommy woke up and then woke me up soooo.” explained Dream as he sat down on the couch next to Tubbo. 

“You hungry?” asked Bad as he stood up. 

“Haha yeah, Techno and Tommy haven’ eaten either.” answered Dream. 

“Oh! I’ll make something really quick!” said Bad as he stood up and headed to the kitchen.

“Skeppy come help!” called Bad. Skeppy groaned but stood up anyway. Dream snickered. Tommy stumbled down the stairs a little later. 

“Good morning Tommy,” said Wilbur. 

“Nothing good about it.” mumbled Tommy as he sat down in a chair. 

“Aw it’s okay Tommy,” said Dream with a smirk. Tommy grumbled and Dream chuckled. About 10 minutes later Bad and Skeppy emerged from the kitchen with 3 plates of food and handed them to Dream, Tommy and Techno. They all ate and then retreated to their rooms to get read for combat training. Everyone was downstairs besides Tommy and Dream. 

“Everyone else here?” asked Sapnap. He got hums and yes’s.

“Great, Tommy and Dream?” 

“Still getting ready,” responded Wilbur. He assumed it was from the lack of sleep. The two were sluggish right now, and rather clumsily. 

“Someone else will be joining us today.” said Techno. The others raised their eyebrows at him. 

“Who?” asked Skeppy. Techno smiled. 

“Tommy and Dream are having some serious problems I can’t seem to fix so I called in someone special.” The others looked at him with confused looks. Wilbur grinned brightly when he figured it out.

“Philza minecraft will be meeting with us at the training field.” 

  
  


  


  


Dream yawned as the group walked through the forest. He was already about to fall asleep while getting ready and this little trek they were doing wasn’t helping. It was normally a short trip to the training grounds but Techno said some trees or something had fallen. He was so out of it he didn’t even notice the way everyone glanced at him every time he stumbled or almost fell. Tommy was having similar issues. The two of them were at the back of the group. Dream’s foot hit a root that George warned everyone about and he nearly fell until Techno grabbed his arm. Dream, half asleep basically, didn’t know it was him and he yanked his arm away with wide eyes.

“It’s me Dream, sorry you almost fell,” said Techno. Dream visibly relaxed and mumbled that it was okay and kept walking. Wilbur came up behind Techno and Tubbo went to go help Tommy to make sure he didn’t fall. Sapnap joined Dream’s side doing the same.

“They look awful.” commented Wilbur. 

“They haven’t slept.” said George. 

“They're about too, once we’re there they’re going to pass out.” said Techno.

“Why do you think we’re taking the long way?” said Techno.

“The main road wasn’t actually damaged was it?” asked Skeppy. 

“Nope, just need to make them really tired.” siad Techno. 

“A good idea actually,” agreed Wilbur. Techno hummed and walked slower so the group could mix again. The walk lasted another 45 minutes and by the time they were there everyone was tired. 

“Maybe this wasn’t the best idea Techno. We’re all just exhausted now,” said Bad. Techno shook his head.

“Nope, it’ll happen any second now,” and as if on cue, Dream collapsed. 

“Woah-!” said Tommy who was standing next to him. 

“Ha! Fucker owes me now,” said Tommy. 

“DId you two really make a deal on who would fall asleep first?” asked George as he went to help Sapnap with Dream. 

“Yes, they did,” answered Tubbo. Techno rolled his eyes. 

“Your turn to go to sleep Tommy.” said Wilbur.

“Damn, I owe Dream now, shit,” said Tommy. 

“What do you mean?” asked Skeppy.

“Dream’s far from stupid. He knew that the normal trail was fine. He’s good at reading faces, knew Techno was lying almost immediately. AND he also guessed Techno lied about the trail because he wanted to make us go to sleep and he was right so I owe him.” explained Tommy as he slurred half of his words. He suddenly stepped forward and his knee gave out. The other thing that kept him from falling was Wilbur’s arm. 

“There we go,” said Wilbur as he gently laid Tommy on the ground next to Dream. 

“Damn, he was still that observant even being half asleep?” said Techno.

“That’s kinda horrifying but cool,” commented Tubbo. Dream light snores were heard by them all. Sapnap had removed Dream’s mask after he collapsed and put it in his bag so they could all see how bad his eye bags were. Tommy’s were more prominent now that he was laying down and actually asleep. Techno sighed.

“Can one or two people keep an eye on them while we practice?” asked Techno.

“I can keep an eye on both of them, unless someone else wants to help?” offered Tubbo. 

“I’ll help too, I know how to calm Dream down if he has a nightmare.” said Sap. The others nodded and all went out to the field. Tubbo was playing with Tommy’s curly blond hair as they sat there. 

“I feel bad for them,” said Tubbo. Sapnap looked over at the boy.

“I do too, they already went through a lot, especially Dream. It’s not fair that this shit keeps happening.” said Sapnap and he looked down at Dream. Tubbo nodded.

“How are you doing Sap? You went through a lot too,” asked Tubbo. Sapnap shrugged.

“I didn’t go through near as much as they did. So I almost died, we all almost died. Tommy has to deal with the guilt of letting Dream leave and then he thought he died. Luckily Dream hadn’t but he was injured. And then Tommy nearly watched him die. Then Tommy almost died himself. Then there’s Dream. God where do I start. He still blames himself for the whole thing starting because of him. He tries to do something and is doing well then he gets overpowered and tortured. Is only alive because Tommy and Bad found him. Sees everyone he was doing this to protect hurt and some dying. Nearly dies himself, AGAIN. Tommy jumps in front and basically sacrifices himself which killed Dream. Dream also killed someone. The only thing I had to go through was nearly dying. Sure I have some nightmares, but everyone here does.” said Sapanp. Tubbo put hand on his shoulder.

“That doesn’t mean you’re okay though.” said Tubbo. Sapnap turned and looked at him and smiled. 

“I guess you’re right, but don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” answered Sapnap. The two of them began watching the others and bet stupid things on who’d win. Dream shuddered in his sleep and his face contorted into one of pain. He suddenly jerked and Sapnap jumped.

“Shit…” mumbled Sapnap. He moved and placed a hand on Dream’s shoulder.

“Dream, it's okay, wake up, you’re okay,” whispered Sapnap as he shook Dream’s arm. Dream gasped and his eyes shot open. He sat up quickly accidentally hitting Sapanp’s forehead.

“Fuck!” yelled Sapnap as he rubbed his head. Dream was holding his head as his surroundings came into view.

“Shit, sorry Sap,” said Dream.

“Your good,” mumbled Sapanp.

“Are you alright, Dream?” asked Tubbo. Dream yawned.

“I’m fine now, thanks for waking me up,” thanked Dream. 

“No problem,” said Sap as he removed his hands. Dream yawned again.

“You didn’t get any sleep.” said Tubbo. Dream shrugged.

“Guess Techno’s plan didn’t work,” joked Dream. Dream looked over at Tommy, a look of relief crossed over his face.

“Thank god he’s still asleep, he needs it.” said Dream. Taboo and Sapnap looked at him like he was crazy.

“What?” asked Dream. 

“Dude, can you not see the bags under your eyes.” said Sapnap.

“I mean, technically I can’t,” said Dream knowing it’d piss him off. Spanap grumbled words under his breath. 

“I wonder when Philza is going to arrive,” said Tubbo. Dream’s eyes widened.

“What? Philza’s coming? Since when?” asked Dream. Dream never had a problem with the older male. He was a kind and caring soul with a chaotic side. Dream himself always felt calm around him, safe even. 

“Since this morning,” said Techno from behind them. The group had finished sparing and were all rejoining the others. 

“He should be here in a few minutes actually,” said Techno as he sat down next to Dream. 

“No one told me?” said Dream. 

“You were still upstairs when it came up,” said George as he sat down next to Sap. Dream nodded. 

“How long has he been awake?” asked Wilbur. 

“He woke up a few minutes ago,” said Tubbo. Wilbur hummed and leaned against a tree. 

“Thankfully, Tommy’s still out.”

“No, I’m not,” groaned Tommy. The others jumped at his voice.

“You people are fucking loud.” said Tommy as he sat up and rubbed his head. Dream knew he didn’t wake up because they were talking. He was the only one who noticed how his hand was twitching while he was asleep. That was Tommy’s sign of a nightmare that wasn't that bad but it was still a nightmare. He discreetly pinched the boy and woke him up.

“Sorry, you’re usually a heavy sleeper,” said Wilbur. Tommy grumbled. Suddenly the loud sound of wings flapping filled the air and then a thud was heard behind them. They all turned around and there was Philza standing there with his wings outstretched and a few bags in his hands.

“Hello everyone!” greeted Phil. Wilbur ran forwards and threw his arms around the older’s neck.

“Phil!” yelled Tubbo. The boy stood up and ran over and hugged him. Techno stood up as well but he walked over and greeted him. Phil raised an eyebrow at him before grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him into the hug. 

“I missed you idiots,” said Phil. 

“Where’s Tommy?” asked PHil. Tcehno pulled away and pointed to him. 

“Hi Phil!” said Tommy. The others walked over and greeted him. Dream stood up on shaky legs and held a hand out to Tommy. Tommy accepted and he pulled the boy up nearly falling forwards. Tommy speed walked over to the group and hugged Phil. Phil rubbed the boy's hair and he pulled away. When Tommy pulled away Phil’s eyes widened at the bags under his eyes and how a scar could be seen on the boy's collar bone, his eyes shot to Techno. Techno sighed and mouthed ‘I’ll explain later.’ Phil nodded and looked around for the one person he hadn’t seen yet. 

“Where’s Dream?” asked Phil. 

“Here,” said Dream as he walked towards them. For that second time that day, Phil had to stop himself from going into father mode after seeing the bags under his eyes. He also realized that he didn’t have his mask on. He also noticed the scars on his face and neck, specifically the one on his eye. There was an abundance of scars he hadn’t seen on him just a little over a year ago. His scarred hands and his sleeves were rolled up slightly so Phil could see some of the cut scars from the duel. 

“Your mask is off?” said Phil. Dream eyes widened.

“O-oh sorry I forgot to put it on,” said Dream. Spanap reached into his bag and pulled out the object. Dream had to stop himself from snatching it from his hands. He took the mask and placed it on his face. 

“It's fine Dream, it’s nice to see it off,” said Phil with a smile. Dream smiled back at him. Last time he remembered, Dream didn’t have scars but Dream could’ve been lying the last time he saw him. Techno could practically feel the eyes staring at him from behind and he grunted.

“I’m thinking we go home? Get some dinner going?” offered Bad. The group agreed.

“Some sleep too,” said Skeppy. The group laughed and began going home taking the shorter root this time. 

  
  


(TIMESKIP)

  
  


“Woah! Cool!” said Tubbo as he flipped through the pages of the book of plants Phil had made. Phil chuckled. 

“I’ve been making this for years, there’s a lot so take all the time you want,” said Phil. Tubbo smiled brightly at him and began looking at all the photos of different flowers and plants from the overworld and Nether. They all got home and showed Philza around their massive shared home and then Bad and Wilbur cooked dinner, Steak with carrots and Techno’s choice, potatoes. Phil noticed how clumsy Dream and Tommy were. He also saw the scars on Dream’s legs and upper arm when he changed into more comfortable clothing. He didn’t get much of a look at whatever scar was on Tommy’s chest. After they ate, they were just relaxing. It took everything Dream and Tommy had to not pass out. Dream yawned.

“Tired Dream?” asked Phil. Dream smiled.

“Yeah, I’m beat. We had to take a long root to get to the training grounds today.” explained Dream. Phil only nodded and eyed Techno for at least the 15th time. Techno faked a yawn. 

“It’s pretty late, we should head to bed.” said Techno. The others took the hint and agreed.

“Good idea,” said Dream. As soon as he stood up his knees decided to give out and he fell. Everyone turned towards him at the sound of him hitting the floor. 

“Dream!” called George as he rushed to help his friend. Phil was closest to him and helped him up.

“Are you okay?” asked Phil. Dream rubbed his head and nodded.

“Yeah, haha, just hadn’t walked around in a while.” said Dream nervously as he stood up. Dream’s face was flushed since he was rather embarrassed. Dream turned on his heel and went up the stairs.

“Goodnight!” called Dream. A few answered and then the room went silent. 

“Going away now, goodnight,” said Tommy as he walked up the stairs. He also got goodnights. Phil listened for the sound of Tommy going up the 2nd flight of stairs and closing his door. After he heard the door slam he turned to Techno.

“What the fuck happened?! Dream’s covered in scars and not to mention the bags under his eyes! And he NEVER takes off his mask! And then Tommy! I only caught a small glimpse at it but I know for a fact there’s a big fuckin scar on his chest! And then all of you have these scars that you didn’t have. So what the fuck happened.” ranted Phil. Everyone shrunk back at him. Techno sighed.

“Phil calm down. Why I asked you to come here is actually because of them.” said Techno. Phil huffed and crossed his arms. 

“Then get to explaining.” The group eyed each other and they all settled back down. Techno sighed when no one spoke. He told him how Slayer came and challenged Dream. How the others got hurt and Dream accepted. How they tried to stop him by locking him up. How he got out and Tommy letting him leave. About the duel. Dream’s torture. Tommy’s near death after Dream’s near death. Everything. He told Phil everything. By the end Phil had a hand over his mouth and a horrified expression. Everyone was looking away from him. 

“Oh god…” mumbled Phil. Dream and Tommy, everyone here, they’ve been through so much.

“When, when did this happen…?” asked PHil. 

“About a year ago. It’ll be the exact day in a week.” answered Sapnap. Phil’s heart sank.

“You never told me about this and it’s been a year?” asked Phil. Everyone looked away, shame and guilt settling into their guts.

“Dream didn’t want anyone to know.” said Tubbo quietly. Phil’s eyes softened. 

“Shit, I’m sorry, you’ve all been through so much. God, Tommy and Dream. Why did you call me here Techno?” asked Phil.

“I’m Dream’s shoulder to lean on like you and Dream is Tommy’s shoulder to lean on. They’ve both been getting really bad nightmares recently since the day is coming up. Dream woke up at least 3 or 4 times screaming and getting panic attacks. Tommy has woken up screaming 2 or 3 times as well. He’s only had one panic attack. Neither have been getting enough sleep. Especially Dream though, he stays awake after Tommy has a really bad nightmare to make sure he feels safe. I don’t know what to do. While I can help Dream kind of, I don’t know how to help them both. Dream won’t listen to me whenever I tell him to go to sleep after Tommy falls asleep and his lack of sleep is actually making him aggressive. Dream’s really big on not hurting others so even hurting us one bit could freak him out enough to the point of a panic attack.” explained Techno. Phil nodded and buried his face in his hands.

“God I wish you would’ve told me sooner but I respect that Dream didn’t want others to know.” said Phil. The older male sighed.

“Is there anything else I should know Techno?” asked Phil.

“Tommy and Dream also have this sort of separation anxiety. If they aren’t where the other is or know their location they get really… anxious I guess. It’s not too bad but one time Tommy got hurt while on a hike with me, Wilbur and Tubbo. When we came back with an unconscious Tommy who was hurt, Dream nearly lost it. That was probably one of the worst ones.” added Techno. 

“Dream HATES physical contact too. I honestly want to say that it’s gotten worse. He’s not big on people touching him. Accept for Techno, me and Tommy. You have to be someone he really trusts or someone he feels safe around.” said Sapnap. Phil nodded. Phil rubbed his eyes. God. They’ve all been through hell and he had no idea. Tommy, his unofficial son like Techno, Tubbo and Wilbur, was dealing with the guilt of nearly watching Dream die and then almost died himself. Dream, a really good friend of his, had to deal with so much. It hurt to think about. Phil had no idea this even happened. He hadn’t seen them in person in ages. He closed his eyes and buried his face in his hands. God, he could’ve helped but he had no idea. He felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up to see Tubbo. His eyes glanced at the scar that was mostly hidden by his hair. It was so easy to find now. The boy wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s okay Phil, you didn’t know.” whispered Tubbo. Phil smiled at the boy and hugged him back. 

“Thank you for telling me. It’s getting late though. Y’all need some sleep. We all do.” said Philza. Everyone agreed. Philza turned to the stairs and made his way up them.

“Wake me up if one of them has a nightmare okay?” said Phil. Techno laughed bitterly.

“Trust me, you’ll know.” said Techno as he walked away. Phil felt dread settle into his stomach at his words but he went into his room anyway, quietly closing the door behind him. 

  
  
  


  


  


Techno was right. He would know. Phil’s eyes shot open when a gut wrenching scream filled his ears. It was Tommy. He jumped out of bed and ran to the boy’s room. He nearly ran into Techno.

“Let’s go,” said Techno. Wilbur was holding Tubbo in his arms down the hallway as the boy covered his ears with tears going down his face. They went into the room and saw Tommy curled up on his bed, clutching his hair tightly as tears rolled down his cheeks. His breathing was erratic. Philza went to go help but Techno grabbed his shoulder. 

“Wait.” said Techno. Philza looked at him like he was crazy until it all clicked when he heard footsteps approaching the room quickly. Dream appeared in the doorway without his mask and only wearing a jacket that wasn’t zipped so Phil saw his severely scarred chest. He looked like he didn’t even see Techno or Philza as he walked by them. He crawled onto the boy’s bed and sat in front of him. Dream heard Tommy whispering something.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, fuck, I’m sorry,” mumbled Tommy. Dream gently grabbed the boy’s wrist and pulled them away from his blonde hair. 

“Tommy, it’s okay, I’m fine, I’m here,” said Dream. Phil watched in awe as Dream expertly calmed the boy down, it reminded him of him of how he would calm Techno down after a nightmare. He pulled the boy into a hug and sat his head on top of Tommy’s, running circles into his back. Tommy squeezed Dream’s torso so tight that he had to shift himself to relieve the pressure on his ribs. 

“It’s okay Tommy, I’m here, I’m here.” mumbled Dream. Dream swears the grip got tighter and he whimpered but ignored it and hugged the boy gently. Techno motioned for Phil to follow him and he did. The two neared the bed. Dream opened his eyes and eyed them both. He looked more tired than before. Phil took a risk by sitting on the edge of the bed. Tommy glanced out of the side and saw Phil. His grip loosened on Dream and they both saw Dream’s face twitch at the pain but turn into relief soon after. Dream noticed how Tommy looked at Phil like he wanted to hug him but he was too scared to leave Dream. Dream pulled back all the way and looked at Tommy’s face. 

“You can go hug Phil, it’s fine, I’m fine Tommy,” reassured Dream with a comforting smile. Tommy looked at Phil then back at Dream. Dream gave a small nod, and Tommy threw himself on Phil. Phil let out an oof but quickly wrapped his arms around him. Dream swayed from where he was sitting but Techno’s hand kept him upright. Dream looked up at Techno with sad and tired eyes. Techno looked back at him with a similar expression. Phil rubbed circles into his back.

“Does he know?” asked Dream. Techno only nodded. Dream looked at him again but looked back towards Tommy. Techno didn’t miss the betrayal he saw deep in Dream’s green eyes. Dream placed a hand on Tommy’s back.

“You should get some more sleep, Dream, we’ll watch him.” said Phil. Dream looked at the boy.

“Do you want me to stay Tommy?” asked Dream. Tommy nodded and Dream smiled. He moved to the top of Tommy’s bed and pulled the sheets over his legs. He held his arms out for Tommy and the boy released Phil.

“I can-” started Phil but Tommy had already let go and hugged Dream again. So much for letting Dream get more sleep. Techno wanted to punch a wall. They should’ve prevented this. Tommy hugged Dream and Dream turned to Techno.

“Coffee?” asked Dream. Techno looked at him with sad eyes before looking at Phil.

“Dream you should get some sleep. You can stay in here but you don’t need to stay awake,” said Phil, trying to reason with him.

“Someone needs to be here too,” Dream stopped mid sentence to yawn,” wake him up.” 

“One of us can do it,” said Techno.

“You need to sleep.” said Phil again with a stern voice. Dream frowned.

“I’m staying awake. I can go to sleep later.” said Dream, sounding annoyed. Techno had had this argument with Dream before. It didn’t end well because for some reason, sleep deprived Dream was more stubborn than normal Dream. Techno sighed. He didn’t want to wake up Tommy so he put a hand on Phil’s shoulder. 

“I’ll get your coffee Dream,” said Techno. Phil’s head snapped towards him but Techno ignored it and pulled him out of the room. As soon as the door was shut Phil turned to him. 

“Why did you let him stay up?!” whisper yelled Phil. 

“I didn’t want to fight with him again and wake Tommy up,” answered Techno. Phil mumbled multiple cuss words under his breath. 

“He nearly fell over just sitting up in the bed. This is EXTREMELY unhealthy. So what if he’s stubborn. I get stubbornness so I’m going to talk to him today. He can yell at me, do anything but I’m making him get some sleep and he’s not going to get the option of staying awake because at the end of the day, he needs a break. He’s got his own trauma to deal with.” said Phil. Techno stared at him.

“I know that Phil. I’ve tried to help him but, God, I just don’t know how. I trust you can change his mind or at least help him understand the problem but just please,” said Techno. He stepped forwards and grabbed Phil’s arms and pulled him closer. Phil was surprised by how much vulnerability he saw in Techno’s eyes. 

“God please don’t scare him.”

  


  


(Timeskip)

  


  


Dream ended up staying up for a good three hours after Tommy passed out before falling asleep himself. Techno and Phill stayed in the room. The only one who stayed awake the whole time was Phil. He convinced Techno to go to sleep a little after Dream passed out. Phil yawned and stood up stretching. He looked at all of them sleeping and smiled. He turned around and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

“Are they still sleeping?” asked Wilbur. Phil jumped and turned around quickly. 

“Fucking hell Wilbur,” said Phil. Wilbur chuckled. 

“Sorry.” Phil turned to the stairs and began walking to them.

“Yeah I managed to sneak out without waking one of them.” said Phil. 

“That’s good. Did Dream put up a fight again?” asked WIlbur. 

“I heard you and Techno in the hallway from Tubbo’s room and I’ve been there for the fight haha,” explained Wilbur. Phil nodded. Jesus what happened between Dream and Techno during that fight? 

“He looked like he was, Techno stopped it before anything happened though.” answered Phil. Wilbur nodded. The two made their way downstairs and into the living room. 

“Good morning!” greeted Bad. 

“Morning,” said Wilbur. Phil smiled.

“Good morning Bad.” said Phil. Bad smiled and went back to helping Tubbo read the plant book Phil made.

“Breakfast is in the kitchen!” called George from said kitchen. Everyone was just doing their own thing in the living room so Phil headed into the kitchen. The smell of eggs, bacon and potatoes filled the air. 

“Smells good,” said Phil. George smiled.

“I somehow always end up with breakfast duty so I’ve gotten good at it,” said George with a hint of pride. Phil got a spoonful of eggs and took a bite.

“Oh god that’s good,” said Phil. George chuckled. 

“Help yourself! I’d get all you want before Tommy and Dream come down. They’re big eaters especially after a long night,” said George with a smile. He left the kitchen and Phil began helping himself but then George popped back in.

“Don’t touch the coffee by the way! That Techno and Dream’s! I think they’d actually kill you if you took it,” warned George. Phil laughed fondly. 

“I won’t even get near it,” joked Phil. George smiled and left to join the others. Phil got a plate of eggs and bacon and walked back into the room. He nearly threw his plate when he saw Techno, Tommy, AND Dream on the couch. In the mere 5 minutes Phil was in the kitchen all 3 made their way downstairs. Phil walked over and sat down in an individual chair.

“Good morning you 3, I'm surprised you’re awake.” said Phil. Techno looked like shit and Dream and Tommy looked like they hadn’t slept in a week as usual. Dream chuckled, Techno groaned and Tommy laughed.

“Sleep is for the weak,” said Dream. He yawned right after. Phil raised an eyebrow at Dream then looked towards Techno who just ignored him.

“I disagree, Big Man.” said Tommy, mid yawn. Phil laughed. 

“You both don’t get enough sleep,” said Techno as he continued to ignore Phil’s gaze. The others jumped into the conversation and somehow it shifted into a conversation about something Phil could not stop laughing at. Phil wiped a tear from his eye and glanced over to his side to see Dream trying his hardest to stay awake. He felt a pang of guilt in his chest. He also saw that Techno had an arm around his back keeping him upright. 

“Dream! Can I speak to you?” asked Phil. Dream’s eyes snapped open and he turned to him. 

“Sure!” said Dream. The other stood up, Techno’s hand keeping him steady. Phil pulled him out of the room and into the enchantment room. (I really said fuck the layout of this house use ur imaginations.) Phil closed the doors behind him. Phil has known Dream for a while. He was a stubborn, playful but serious individual. He was extremely observant and was very intelligent. He matched Technos’ skill with combat as well. 

“Can I ask you something?” asked Phil. Dream turned towards him.

“Ask away,” answered Dream.

“Why won’t you go to sleep after Tommy wakes up from a nightmare?” asked Phil. Phil watched Dream visibly tense at his words. 

“Because someone needs to wake him up if he has another one.” mumbled Dream. 

“Dream I know you care about him but that’s excessive. And it doesn’t matter because you force yourself to stay awake through the day too. There’s another reason.” said Phil. Dream’s eyes widened under his mask and he decided to stay quiet. Phil sighed.

“I know it’s hard, Dream. You’re similar to Techno. When he had his nightmares something happened after a while. He refused to sleep. No matter what I did or what anyone did he refused any form of rest. I know you know why.” said Phil. Dream stayed silent.

“Dream-” 

“Shut up.” spat Dream suddenly. Phil stared at him in shock for a moment before sighing. Dream was a stubborn person. He also got aggravated quickly, especially when he’s half asleep.

“I just want to help Tommy.” said Dream. Phil grunted.

“That's not just it Dream. You need to admit it.” said Phil. Dream glared at him through the mask.

“Tommy needs help, that’s all there is to it.” whispered Dream. 

“Dream y-” started Phil but Dream slammed his fist onto the wall. A loud crack was heard. Dream hit the wall so hard it cracked the stone. Phil’s eyes widened.

“Shut. Up.” demanded Dream darkly. Phil backed up and raised his arms to show he was unarmed. Dream removed his hand and held it to his chest. A stream of blood ran down his scarred arm. Dream grabbed the door handle and stormed off. Phil followed behind him. Dream ignored when his friend’s called his name. 

“Dream wait.” said Phil. Dream grit his teeth and turned around.

“God would you fuck off?!” yelled Dream angirly. 

“Dream calm down.” said Techno as he stood up. Dream turned to him.

“Oh shut it Techno, this doesn’t concern you,” spat Dream. Techno sighed, he’s been here before.

“Yes, it does. Phil’s trying to help you please just sit down and calm down.” asked Techno.

“Dream I swear I’m just trying to help. You know you need to admit it. It’s the only way something can be done about it.” said Phil.

“There’s nothing to fucking admit,” said Dream. Phil stepped forward and something like panic sparked in Dream. 

“Yes there is! They told me what happened! I know what you went through!” said Phil. Dream stepped forward.

“No you don't! They might have told you but you weren’t the one who had a sword stabbed into their side and then pulled against the cold ground. You weren’t the one who saw Tommy jump in front of you! You weren’t the one who killed someone! So you sure as hell don’t know what I went through or what anyone here went through because you weren’t even there!” yelled Dream. 

“I could feel the blood leaving my body, he dragged me through my own fucking blood. I could feel the blood splatter on my neck and face when Tommy jumped in front of me. I could feel how every broken or fractured bone would shift and stab my insides when he’d kick me. I could feel it all and they saw it all and you didn’t so fuck off. I’ll sleep when I want to.” said Dream. His breaths were labored and he was basically panting because his lungs were burning from the yelling. He stumbled backwards but Techno caught him before he could fall. Dream took in 2 or 3 good breaths and then decided to push away from Techno and begin walking upstairs. Phil stepped forwards but Techno put a hand on his shoulder.

“Shit.” said Phil under his breath. 

“There was no chance that was going to work first time so don’t feel bad,” assured Techno. 

“What the fuck happened?” asked Tommy. 

“I’m trying to get him to admit it,” said Phil as he sat down.

“Admit what?” asked George.

“That he’s scared of sleeping,” answered Techno. The others looked at Phil and Techno with pity. 

“I’ll try again soon enough.” said Phil. 

“He’ll never admit that, everyone here knows it. It’s a sign of weakness and I don't think any of us have forgotten that Dream despises looking weak. He also cares about Tommy too much.” said Wilbur. Tommy perked up at this.

“What do you mean?” asked Tommy. Techno sighed.

“Tommy, whenever you have a nightmare you usually fall asleep with Dream, yes? Well he’s been staying awake after you fall asleep just so he can wake up if you have another one,” answered Techno. Tommy almost looked like he got paler. 

“What?! Why!?!” yelled Tommy.

“He seems to be scared of going to sleep. I know someone who had to deal with something similar. Once they just admitted it and got help they were able to fall asleep again but Dream is a stubborn person. He’s not going to cave that easily.” said Phil. Tommy looked down at his lap. 

“I’m the reason why he’s so tired…?” asked Tommy quietly. Wilbur stood up and knelt down in front of him. 

“It’s not your fault Tommy. Dream’s just being Dream.” siad Wilbur as he rested a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“If he’d just go to sleep maybe I could get to him after a nightmare.” mumbled Phil.

“That’d probably be your best bet but I hate that you’d have to do it when he’s already down.” said Sapnap. 

“I agree, he’s really jumpy and can get reality confused with the past. He could hurt you Phil, and if he does that he might actually snap.” said Bad. 

“We could all try to talk to him?” offered Tubbo.

“I doubt he’d want all of us pressuring something he’s too scared to admit himself,” said Techno. The room went quiet. Techno sighed.

“We-” Techno cut himself off when he saw that Dream whispered to him. He read the message.  _ ‘Can you come here?’  _ Techno looked at it for longer than he should have because the others picked up on it. 

“Whatcha lookin at there?” asked Skeppy. 

“Nothing that concerns you Skeppy.” siad Techno as he stood up and headed for the stairs. 

“Did Dream message you?” asked Phil. 

“Yap,” answered Techno as he disappeared upstairs. Techno climbed the stairs until he reached the top floor. Techno walked up to Dream’s room and gently knocked. 

“Dream?” asked Techno. He knew what to expect when he was going to open the door. He gently pushed it open and just as he expected. Dream was in the corner of his room clutching his hair, face hidden by his knees that were pulled up to his chest. Erratic breathing and quiet whimpers filled the room. Techno frowned and walked over kneeling in front of Dream. 

“C’mere Dream,” whispered Techno. Dream lifted his head and Techno’s frown grew larger. Dream sniffled and shifted to sit on his knees then hugged Techno’s torso.

“I'm sorry, I didn’t wanna yell at him,” mumbled Dream. Techno pulled Dream close. 

“I know Dream, I know.” whispered Techno. They sat like that until Dream’s cries ceased and he pulled away. He wiped his face.

“I’m so tired Techno.” said Dream. Techno watched him with sad eyes. 

“I’m so fucking tired,” mumbled Dream. Techno could see his eyelids closing and he pulled him closer snagging a pillow off his bed and putting it behind his back. He pulled Dream next to him and put an arm around his side. Dream rested his head on Techno’s chest while he hugged Techno’s torso. Techno combed his fingers through his hair.

“Sleep Dream. I’m here,” whispered Techno. Dream mumbled something incoherent and passed out.

“Get some sleep.” 

  
  
  
  


  


  


Phil was getting nervous. He really hoped he hadn’t completely fucked up with Dream. His leg was bouncing in his seat as the others chatted or just did their own thing. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder and he turned to see Tubbo was standing behind him.

“I’m sure he’s not mad. Dream never stays mad after something like this.” said Tubbo with a smile. Phil smiled at him.

“Yeah. Right after Techno and Dream argued he felt so bad he broke down and begged for forgiveness. It was really sad to watch but he was never really mad at him.” explained Wilbur. Phil nodded and looked over at Tommy. Tommy looked deep in thought. 

“You alright Tommy?” asked Phil. Tommy looked up at him with tired eyes.

“I’m fine,” said Tommy though Phil didn’t believe it. 

“Tommy you didn’t do anything.” said Phil. Tommy looked at him again. 

“I know I just can’t help but feel like it’s my fault.” mumbled the boy.

“We haven’t seen them in a while. Wonder what they’re doing.” commented Sapnap. Phil stood up.

“Maybe we should check on them to make sure nothing bad happened.” said Phil. The others agreed and stood up. The group made their way up the flights of stairs towards Dream’s room. Sapnap took the lead once they reached his room. He knocked and got no answer. Sapnap gently pushed the door open and his face softened at the sight. Dream and Techno were asleep on the floor. Techno had sunk more to the floor and was basically laying on it while Dream had his head on his chest and arms around his torso. They were both snoring quietly.

“Aw that’s sweet.” said Sapnap. The others peaked into the room and smiled.

“Should we move them to the bed?” asked Bad. Phil shook his head.

“I’m sure they fall asleep like this a lot so they’re used to it. And we don’t want to risk Dream waking up.” said Phil. 

“We should go then. They both need they’re sleep.” whispered Tommy. Everyone agreed and they closed the room heading back downstairs. It was a peaceful night surprisingly. They all settled back downstairs and just relaxed knowing Dream was finally getting sleep and Techno was getting some too. They chatted and played games telling stories. 

“Sounds like a fun time you guys have had here.” commented Phil with a smile. They randomly heard a quiet thump from upstairs. No one thought much of it until they heard an agonized scream. 

  
  
  
  


  


  


Techno woke up to a loud scream. His eyes snapped open. Dream wasn’t holding onto his torso anymore instead and was curled into a ball laying on the ground clutching his blond hair tightly legs pulled up to his chest. Sobs and whimpers coming out of his mouth. Techno immediately took action. 

“Dream,” whispered Techno. Dream didn’t even appear to register his words so he reached out and gently touched his shoulder. Dreams eyes shot open and he scrambled away from Techno. 

“Dream it’s me okay? You’re okay. It was just a nightmare.” whispered Techno. Dream dug his heels into the wooden planks pushing himself further into the corner of the room. 

“T-techno?” mumbled Dream. Techno nodded.

“It’s me. It’s okay. Can I touch you?” asked Techno. Dream didn’t give him an answer choosing to instead to lunge at him and wrap his arms around his chest tightly. Techno hugged him back and put his head on top of Dream as the other choked on his breaths and sobbed.

“God I killed him, and then- oh fuck,” said Dream in a rush. Techno shushed him.

“Focus on your breathing. Calm down.” said Techno. Dream choked on another breath and went into a coughing fit. Lungs burning from his screaming.

“Oh g-god Phil.” mumbled Dream. Techno figured out what happened just based on that one sentence. Dream killed Phil. He wasn’t surprised since they had that argument.

“Phil’s fine Dream. He’s okay. You didn’t hurt him,” reassured Techno. 

“N-no he’s gone- I hurt him, god, Wilbur and T-tommy are going to h-hate me. W-why are you hugging me? You’re supposed to be m-mad, fuck. Why aren’t you mad?!” yelled Dream. Techno squeezed him tighter.

“Because Phil’s okay Dream.” said Techno. Dream broke off into a coughing fit and Techno heard footsteps outside the door and then the door opened and a tiny sliver of light cut into the dark room. Phil peaked in and Techno mentally cheered. He was just the person Dream needed to see. He made eye contact with him. Phil was standing there staring at Dream with such sadness it was almost overwhelming for Techno. Techno finally got his attention and Phil took the hint walking over. He crouched down next to them.

“Dream. There’s someone here to see you.” said Techno. Dream lifted his head from Techno’s chest and looked towards his side. His eyes widened when he saw Phil sitting there with a small smile.

“Y-you’re okay…” muttered Dream. Phil raised his eyebrows in confusion but Techno shot him a look that said ‘go along with it or I will end you’.

“I’m okay, Dream. Don’t worry.” said Phil. Dream started at him in disbelief.

“I didn’t k-kill you, you’re here.” whispered Dream. Phil’s eyes widened at his words and he was going to speak but Dream released Techno and gently wrapped his arms around Phil. 

“I was so scared...” whispered Dream into Phil’s chest. Phil felt that dad mode set in and he hugged him back. Techno watched as Phil hugged Dream, whispering reassuring things into his ears. He noticed how the door had gotten slightly wider and saw a worried Tommy peering in. Techno stood up and headed towards the door, stepping outside and closing it gently behind him.

“Is he okay?” asked Tommy. 

“What happened?” questioned Sapnap. Techno sighed. 

“He had a nightmare and it sounded like he killed Phil in it.” explained Techno. Tubbo put a hand over his mouth.

“Oh god…” mumbled Wilbur. Techno nodded.

“He can’t catch a break,” said George. Techno rubbed his tired eyes and sighed.

“No. No he can’t.”

  
  
  


  


  


  


Phil continued to stroke Dream’s soft hair as the younger clung to him. Small sniffles and whimpers came from Dream. The two sat there in silence just hugging each other. It made Phil think back to when he did this with Techno. Dream suddenly shifted and pulled away. Phil let him go but still had this lingering feeling in the back of his head saying he shouldn’t have. 

“I’m sorry.” mumbled Dream. 

“Dream you didn’t do anything wrong it’s okay.” said Phil trying to reassure him. Dream coughed and shook his head. 

“I yelled at y-you then I had a nightmare about k-killing you.” spoke Dream. Dream had been looking at the wooden planks the whole time but looked up when he spoke next.

“Don’t you see? I was so mad at you down there it transferred to my nightmare. I was so mad the thought of killing you was somewhere in my mind even if I didn’t notice it. I could’ve hurt you so badly.” said Dream. Phil sighed. 

“But you didn’t Dream and even if you ever did I know you’d never mean it,” said Phil. Dream sniffled. 

“Tell me what you’re thinking, Dream.” said Phil quietly. 

“I just, I just want to sleep. God, I just want to sleep without seeing one of them die. Without killing someone. Without seeing myself die. Without having to relive it all. I'm sorry I yelled at you downstairs.” mumbled Dream. 

“It’s tough. And you had every right to yell at me downstairs. I don’t understand any of it. I wasn’t here for it. I wish I had known about it sooner because maybe I could’ve helped. It was wrong of me to act like I knew how you felt. I’m sure Techno told you about the incident on my hardcore world, I just used that expirence and tried to do it the same way with you.” explained Phil. Phil placed a hand on Dream’s cheek and wiped away his tears with his thumb. 

“It’s okay, I still didn’t need to be that aggressive,” said Dream. Phil chuckled. 

“Techno was pretty aggressive too so I wasn’t worried.” responded Phil. Dream sat there for a moment, looking deep in thought.

“Something on your mind Dream?” asked Phil Dream, looking up at him, green eyes staring into his. (I don't remember his eye color)

“You’re right. I’m terrified of it.” admitted Dream. Dream hugged himself tightly.

“About sleep?” questioned PHil. Dream hesitantly nodded. 

“That’s so stupid. Why would I be afraid of sleep? That's so…” Dream’s voice trailed off.

“Weak.” said Dream. Phil shook his head.

“No Dream. It’s  _ normal. _ You went through something that scarred you mentally and physically. Trauma isn’t something you just overcome. It takes months or years for some people to accept that they went through something like that. You're already doing better than so many other people,” stated Phil. He lifted his head and placed it on Dream’s head rufflinging the hair.

“And you Dream, are not weak. You’re just struggling. That’s normal. Something I think you forget is that there’s other people who can fight here or help Tommy through nightmares. It’s not all on you Dream.” said Phil. Dream felt tears come to his eyes again and his head fell limp out of shame.

“I’m just always so scared Phil. I hate it so much, God, why can’t I just get some sleep. I just-,” Dream cut himself of when a quiet cry left his throat. 

“I know it’s scary, I know it sucks, I’ve had my fair share of nightmares. I found out that the only way to overcome them is by never giving up. You’re going to lose the fight sometimes but if you keep going you can get one step closer to overcoming it and lowering it to a degree that’s reasonable enough for you to handle. Keeping yourself awake until your body shuts down and forces you to sleep is so unhealthy and actually makes the problem worse.” spoke Phil quietly as he rubbed Dream’s back again. Dream tears fell off his cheeks and landed on the wood planks. Phil pulled Dream into a hug and Dream clung back, burying his face in his shoulder.

“You’re not alone, Dream, and you never will be. Everyone here cares so much about you and nothing you do will ever change that.” whispered Phil. Dream only cried harder at his words. Dream sobbed into his shoulder. 

“I’m s-so tired!” said Dream. Phil combed his fingers through his hair. 

“I know, sleep Dream. It’s okay that you're scared. I’ll be here. I’ll keep you and everyone else safe. Take a break, Dream. Close your eyes and let yourself rest,” said PHil quietly. Dream took a deep breath and closed his eyes, exhaustion taking over in a matter of seconds. Phil felt Dream’s grip on his torso lessen and his body slumped. 

“I’m here Dream.” whispered Phil. 

“I’m here.” 

  
  
  
  


  


  


  


Dream’s eyes fluttered open. He shifted under the blankets he was under and yawned.

“You’re awake.” whispered Phil. Dream jumped at the sudden voice but turned and saw Phil smiling at him. 

“You were asleep for a good 7 hours, congrats!” exclaimed Phil quietly. Dream smiled at him.

“How’re you feeling?” asked Phil. Dream yawned and sat up to stretch.

“I feel slightly less exhausted.” said Dream with a smile. Phil smiled at him.

“It’s pretty late now, and you never ate breakfast. Are you hungry?” asked Phil as he got out of the bed. Dream thought to himself for a moment. 

“Yeah, I think I am,” said Dream. He threw his legs over the edge of the bed and saw the few bandaids on his feet. 

“What’d I do to my feet??” asked Dream. Phil threw on his jacket(?) and turned to him. 

“I don’t think you or Techno realized that when you were forcing yourself into the corner you got some deep splinters.” answered Phil. Dream also noticed that his hand had been wrapped in bandages from when he broke the stone. 

“Oh thanks,” said Dream. He stood up on his feet, only feeling small stings of pain that he got used to quickly. Phil smiled at him and began walking towards the door, Dream following behind. Dream gripped his left arm tightly. He thought back to their conversation. Despite the fact that he was much taller than Philza he felt small all of the sudden. Phil was such a great friend. He dropped everything when Techno told him something was wrong and came up here with no hesitation according to Techno. He helped Tommy a little after his nightmare, he tried to help Dream but he pushed him away, then he had to deal with the aftermath of Dream’s nightmare after being so mean. Dream felt guilt claw at his thoughts. He felt like total shit all of a sudden and he hated it. 

“Phil…?” asked Dream. He grabbed Phil’s sleeve forcing him to stop. Phil turned around, a look of worry found its way onto Phil’s face when he saw tears joining down Dream’s cheeks. 

“Woah, woah what’s wrong?” asked Phil, gently grabbing Dream’s hands. Dream pulled away one of his hands so he could wipe his face. 

“I’m sorry, fuck, give me a minute,” said Dream, voice raspy.

“No, no you're okay. What’s wrong?” asked Phil again. Dream sniffled. 

“I’m sorry you had to deal with all of t-this shit. You just- you just came here and once you k-knew what was going on you h-helped without any hesitation. I’m just- fuck,” mumbled Dream as he scrubbed at his face. 

“Why…?” mumbled Dream. He stared into Phil’s eyes when he asked and then began to scrub at the tears again. Phil pulled his hands away from the tallers face so he could look him in the eyes.

“Because you’re in pain Dream. You, Tommy, Techno, Sapnap, everyone in that room down there went through something none of you should ever have to go through. I’ve been through tough shit as well, I’ve lost people, the incident before Techno arrived to help. We all have our trauma and I’ve helped mine but you guys haven’t. You all suffer from nightmares, I can tell because every person in this house had bags under their eyes just way less prominent. I care about you and everyone in this house and don’t you forget it.” said Phil. Dream stared at him with wide eyes before the corner of his lips turned up. He gave Phil a small smile and Phil was dumbfounded by it. Dream wiped away more tears.

“Thank you,” said Dream. Phil smiled back at him.

“Your welcome Dream.” said Phil. Dream’s stomach growled and he gripped it, cheeks now red from the crying and embarrassment. 

“Looks like someone’s really hungry!” teased Phil. Dream rolled his eyes to seem annoyed but his smile never faltered. Dream was fiddling with the bandages on his hand. He looked kind of anxious, probably worried about what happened earlier. Phil reached out a gently grabbed Dream’s hand. Dream jumped at the touch but gripped back a moment later. 

“Don’t worry Dream, no one’s mad at you,” said Phil. Dream shrugged. They walked down the stairs hand in hand. The living room was empty but they heard screaming and yelling outside.

“Oh god.” mumbled Dream when he noticed what they were doing. 

“What the actual fuck are they doing.” said Phil. 

“A game Tommy made up. I have no idea how he convinced them to play it,” said Dream. Tommy had been incredibly bored one day and decided he'd come up with a game. It’s like a mix of football, tag and just stupid rules no one actually follows. It always leads to total chaos whenever it is played. Dream chuckled and shook his head when Tommy tried to tackle Techno and Techno just shoved him away. 

“If Tommy made it up then it’s probably… chaotic.” said Phil. Dream laughed at his comment.

“It definitely is.” responded Dream. Phil opened the door to the porch and they stepped out. Dream took a deep breath of fresh air. It felt nice outside. 

“DREAM!” yelled Tommy. Dream looked back down to see a blur of red and white crash into his chest. Dream let out an oof and caught himself from falling on the table outside. Tommy hugged him tightly and Dream coughed at the force of Tommy ramming into him but he hugged him back with one arm. 

“Hey Tommy,” said Dream in between coughs. Bad walked up.

“Tommy! Be careful you muffinhead! His lungs!” scolded Bad. Dream let out a breathy laugh. 

“It’s fine B-” started Dream but Tubbo came up and hugged him too. Dream stared at the two boys with fond expressions. 

“I’m fine guys. Just a bad dream.” said Dream. 

“I’m glad you got some sleep,” said Techno walking up the stairs. Dream smiled at him.

“A whole 7 hours! Pretty good!” exclaimed Phil, Dream laughed. Tubbo and Tommy released him and his stomach growled again. 

“Haha I’m kinda hungry,” said Dream shyly rubbing the back of his neck. 

“I’m cooking dinner tonight so what do you want?” asked Sapanp. Dream shrugged. 

“Anything sounds good right now,” siad Dream with a chuckle. Sapnap and George headed inside to cook dinner and the others ran back out to the field. Phil yawned and decided to settle on the couch outside.

“Sorry I kept you awake,” said Dream. Phil smiled.

“You’re fine Dream. You’ve been asleep for a while, you probably need exercise,” said Phil. Dream chuckled.

“I am feeling kinda stiff.” admitted Dream. 

“Then go and tackle the gremlin,” said Techno as he walked over to the bench. Dream laughed loudly alongside Phil. Dream rolled his eyes and waved as he walked off the porch. Techno settled down next to Phil.

“So how’d it go?” asked Techno. Phil’s smile faltered at his words and he sighed. 

“He’s pretty fucked up. He went through a lot. His mind isn’t in the best place,” answered Phil honestly. Techno frowned at his words. 

“But, he’s strong. I know he can overcome it. Like I told him, it’d never go away but he can always try his best to help it.” added Phil. Techno smirked. 

“He is strong isn’t he?” said Techno. Phil smiled as he watched Dream tackle Tommy. The two laughed on the ground as the others laughed at them. 

“Yeah, one of the strongest.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There ya go!
> 
> Got some Dadza in there bc yes
> 
> I hope you guys liked it!
> 
> Also! The separation anxiety thing is a idea someone out in the comments! I swear I'll credit you once i find the comment-
> 
> Love you guys! I hope you enjoyed! :D
> 
> -Ash :)
> 
> Sorry if it seems rushed ;-;
> 
> WORD COUNT: 10,012 (i wnet back through this and added words until I got to 10,000)


	7. REQUESTS!

GUYS!

Hi!

I wanted to know if you guys had any requests?

I will obviously not do them all unless I really have time which is possibly since I'm on a 6 week break from school lol

I'll probably only do my favorites or the ones that I get really excited about when reading!

I'll legit do anything, fluff or angst.

Don't tell me to kill anyone because I won't so don't.

I'm currently working on one about techno and then I have another one planned so Idk how long it take to get some of these done but it'll happen eventually! :D

Go wild! >:)

GUYS I MEANT GOTTA PROTECT ONESHOTS BUT I DO BE LIKING THE NON RELATED IDEAS TOO BUT THEYD DEFINITELY COME LATER

RHANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE IDEAS!!

love y’all! ❤️❤️


	8. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dre gets lost and Tommy is hella worried
> 
> I combined two requests by SkyeTheTsubaki and MayeveStorm!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!
> 
> Sry its been a bit since I uploaded lol 
> 
> THis one's kinda offy but i hope you guys enjoy it anyway! :D

Dream didn’t know where he was going all he knew was that he wanted to leave. He pulled a black turtle neck on and then threw on his lime green hoodie. He tried his best to ignore his trembling arms white he pulled on black jeans. Dream let out a shaky breath and grabbed his boots. His vision was blurry from tears and he rubbed at his eyes in annoyance. He grabbed a bag and shoved some weapons in the bag and grabbed his dagger and slipped it into his pocket. Another tear rolled down his face and he scrubbed at it furiously. 

“Dammit…” mumbled Dream. He grabbed his mask from his nightstand and hurriedly placed it on his face. His bed was a total mess because of his nightmare but he sure as hell didn’t feel like fixing it. It was rare for Dream to wake up silently after a nightmare but when he did he always took the opportunity to hide it from his friends. He knew all the nights of getting nightmares was going to start wearing down on his friends and he honestly just didn’t feel like he deserved their affection sometimes, especially after a Dream where he watches them all die or he kills Slayer. Dream silently opened his window and climbed outside of the frame. He jumped. He caught himself on the window sill on Tommy’s window. He flung himself off the ledge and gently landed on a branch. He was always thankful for his parkour ability. He dropped from the trees branch and began making his way from the house. It was only about 1 or 2 am so Dream knew he could get away. As he got farther and farther he ignored this sinking feeling in his chest saying he shouldn’t leave but his mind found the memories of the duel and he forcefully shoved the feeling of leaving them all there deep down. He knew Techno could protect them if something were to happen. Dream failed last time, he wasn’t needed, he’d probably get in the way. Dream began to walk faster and took sharp turns. Those feelings of leaving were clawing their way back up and all he wanted when they finally succeeded was to go back but he ignored them and actually started running through the forest. He almost tripped but caught himself on a tree before he fell. The sounds of bones rattling wasn’t registered in his mind so he had no idea the skeleton was there until he felt the arrow dig into his arm, cutting into his flesh. 

“Ack-!” cired Dream. He turned around and swiftly killed the monster, the dust from its bones settling on the ground. He sucked in a deep breath and looked around. He didn’t realize he was lost until it was too late. It was dark and he couldn’t help the feeling of fear settling into his bones. 

“Shit, nonono I need to get back,” said Dream and he began walking in different directions trying to find anything that looked familiar. The fear disappeared and now it was just panic. He needed to get back. Something could happen. Why did he leave?! Dream’s green eyes looked at everything just trying to find anything. His breathing was getting quicker and it wasn’t because of his running. His throat felt like it was closing and his lungs were on fire making it VERY hard to breathe. Dream clutched the front of his hoodie. He needed to get back, who was going to protect them? They were all still asleep. Oh god, what if Tommy got hurt again and it’d be his fault again. He needed to protect Tommy, he needed to know here he was, and make sure he was okay. He couldn’t get hurt because of Dream again. Dream ran and walked through the snowy forest for what felt like hours. He didn’t know where he was. His knees gave out under him and he fell to the floor. He was exhausted. He felt tears come to his eyes.

“I’m s-scared,” mumbled Dream as warm tears rolled down his cheeks. Dream hugged himself.

“I’m sorry,” muttered Dream. The sounds of his cries echoed through the forest.

(Timeskip fuckers)

**  
  
**

Tommy knew something was wrong the moment he woke up and went downstairs. The moment he didn’t see Dream in the living room was when he really felt the dread settle in. He was currently sitting on the couch, fiddling anxiously with the hem of his shirt, constantly checking the stairs as more people came down. 

“Is something wrong Tommy?” asked Wilbur, sitting down next to Tommy. Tommy was lost in his own anxiety and worry that he didn’t even hear him. Techno raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Tommy?” asked Techno. When he didn’t get another response the others in the room directed their attention to the anxious 16 year old. Tubbo gently reached over and tapped his shoulder causing the latter to flinch away from the hand. 

“Woah, Tommy, calm down.” said Techno. Tommy’s breathing was erratic and his eyes were wide. 

“Are you okay Tommy?” asked George.

“What’s wrong?” questioned Wilbur. Tommy shook his head and Techno placed a gentle hand on his back while the kid took a few deep breaths. Tommy looked up from the ground. 

“W-where’s Dream?” asked Tommy. ‘

“Pretty sure he’s still sleeping, why?” said Sap. Tommy glanced nervously at the stairs when that feeling of dread that came back stronger than ever. And Tommy shook his head.

“N-no something’s wrong, I can feel it, something’s definitely wrong,” said Tommy voice shaky. 

“What do you mean?” asked Techno. Tommy couldn’t take sitting here any longer and he stood up and darted towards the stairs.

“Hey-!” called Tubbo. They decided that trying to get him to come back wouldn’t be worth the trouble so they followed the distressed 16 year old up the stairs. Tommy ran down the hallway of the 3rd floor and skidded to a stop in front of Dream’s door. His hand was shaking violently along with his whole body as he reached for the door handle. Tommy twisted the steel knob and raised his eyebrows when he realized the door was locked. He jiggled the knob trying to force it open. WHen he didn’t get a response and was unsuccessful when trying to open the door he yelled.

“Dream!!” screamed Tommy desperately. Techno and the others reached the top of the stairs and saw Tommy struggling with the door knob. Techno rushed over. 

“Dream!?” called Techno. Wilbur pulled Tommy away from the door but Tommy fought in his grasp. 

“Dream!” screamed Tommy as he struggled in Wilbur’s arms.

“Tommy! Please-! Ugh! Calm down!” said Wilbur. Techno tried the knob and of course nothing happened so he kicked the door down with ease. The piece of wood hit the ground hard. Tommy kicked Wilbur’s shin and pushed past Techno to enter the room. His blue eyes scanned for any sign of the masked individual but there was no sign of him. Techno watched Tommy sink to the ground. He also noticed how the window was open. George and Sap entered their friend’s room and walked over to the window while Techno crouched down next to Tommy. Tommy was staring at the floor with wide eyes and his already pale complexion had gotten worse. As soon as Techno touched him, Tommy’s mind was lost in an endless loop of Dream getting hurt. ANd he dashed towards the window trying to jump out of it. Multiple people in the room ran after him. Tommy was NOT Dream and he had no idea how to jump out a 3 story building and land safely. 

“TOMMY!!” screamed Tubbo. Sapnap and George were closest to the window so they both took immediate action. George stood in front of the window and Spanap grabbed Tommy once he got close enough. He held the boy’s back to his chest and wrapped his arms around his torso while also securing his arms next to his waist. Tommy thrashed in his grasp.

“Let go! We need to get Dream! He’s gonna get hurt again!!” screamed Tommy. Techno stopped in front of him.

“Tommy calm down, we’re gonna find him,” siad Techno. Tommy continued to thrash in Spanap arms, desperate to get free and find his friend.

“He’s gonna get hurt again! PLEASE!” begged Tommy. Wilbur released Tubbo who was crying at the sight of his “brother”. Wilbur Walked over and told Spanap to let him go. Spanap was hesitant but released the boy. Wilbur immediately stepped up and pulled him into a hug. 

“Tommy,” siad Wilbur. The boy struggled to get free.

“It’s okay we’re going to find him and bring him home. We can’t do it without you so you need to calm down.” whispered Wilbur. Tommy had started crying not long after Wilbur began to hug him. Tommy cried out and hugged Wilbur back. Wilbur rubbed his back.

“H-he’s gone, he’s gone…” mumbled Tommy. Wilbur continued to console the boy and Techno walked over to the window. 

“This drop… hope he didn’t hurt himself.” muttered Techno. George put a hand on his shoulder.

“He’s good at parkour, this drop is nothing to him.” assured George. Techno nodded at him and turned around. Tommy and Wilbur were still hugging but Wilbur seemed to have calmed the boy down. 

“Why would he just leave…?” asked Sapnap to himself but Techno couldn’t help overhearing it.

“Don’t know Sap, but we need to find him, and now.” said Techno. Sap looked at him and nodded, determination and worry in his eyes. Techno walked over and kneeled next tommy.

“Tommy?” asked Techno. The pig hybrid couldn’t ignore the almost dead look in Tommy’s eyes. Tommy looked at him.

“He’s going to be okay,” said Techno. Tommy sniffled and a few stray tears read down his cheeks. 

“What if he’s not…?” asked Tommy. Techno faltered slightly before smiling at the boy. 

“If he’s not then you’ll help him right?” asked Techno. Tommy’s eyes widened. Techno was horrified by his words, he just said that Dream might not be okay. What the fuck is wrong with him?? Much to Techno’s surprise Tommy smiled back at him slightly. 

“Y-yeah, he’s a dumbass who’ll probably need help from someone like me,” said Tommy. Wilbur grinned and slung an arm around his shoulders. 

“Yeah? This mean you’re done trying to jump out a window?” joked WIlbur. Tommy shoved him but everyone saw the smile on his face. 

“Oh fuck off.” grumbled Tommy. Wilbur laughed. Techno stood and offered a hand to him, Tommy accepted. 

“George can you each take a group?” asked Techno. George nodded.

“I’ll go with Tommy, WIlbur, and Tubbo. George, Sapnap, Skeppy and Bad are the other group.” said Techno. 

“Each group will go their own way and look for any sign of Dream, use the communicator if you see anything.” Techno eyed the communicator that sat still on Dream’s desk. 

“It’s still night, so I recommend weapons,” added George. Techno nodded. Everyone agreed and all of them separated. Techno stood in the middle of Dream’s room and watched Tommy leave. He sighed and rubbed his face.

“What’re you doing Dream?” asked Techno. He felt a hand on his shoulder.

“He probably wasn’t thinking,” said Sapnap. Techno hummed in agreement.

“Frankly when does he ever?” joked George. Techno and Sap chuckled at his remark. 

“Very ture,” responded Sapnap with a smirk. Techno’s smile faltered and he sighed. 

“We need to find him,” stated Techno. 

“If not for us then for Tommy,” said George. Techno nodded and walked towards the door. 

“Let’s go,” said Techno. 

**  
  
  
  
  
  
**

Dream stared blankly at the stone wall in front of him trying anything he could to ignore the pain in his leg. While Dream had been freaking out he’d tripped and landed on something sharp. He couldn’t remember what it was from but if he had to guess he’d say the bone of a skeleton. The bone dug into his right leg a little to the left of the skin under his kneecap so it hurt, a LOT. He also hit his head which probably explained his headache but he was pretty sure he didn’t have a head injury or concussion. Hint word is pretty sure. A mild concussion was always a possibility but he ignored it. When it started raining Dream took cover in a cave but he was still pretty wet. He had slight tremors running through his body from getting cold. He was glad it wasn’t cold enough to snow but it was still pretty cold. He was still very lost as well. Dream sighed and removed his mask, cold air hitting his face. He was so scared and alone. He missed everyone. He just wanted to be back with his friends. With Sapnap, Techno, George, Tommy, Bad. He wanted to be with them all. He missed them. He felt weak, a feeling he despised with all his being. It reminded him too much of everything that happened and it meant he couldn't protect the ones he cared about. Dream couldn’t even do anything when he felt tears come to his eyes as they began to fall immediately. Dream wiped at them but they kept coming so Dream pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face between them as sobs wracked through his body. He just wanted to go home.

**  
  
  
  
  
**

Sapnap and George walked side by side. The two were alone now since Bad had slipped in some mud and gotten a sprained ankle. All three of them said he should go back home but he refused. The whole thing ended with Skeppy picking up Bad and forcing him to go home. (I SWEAR I WAS PLANNING ON WRITING THEM BUT THEY JUST DIDN’T FIT IM SORRY-) Sapnap looked over at George. He could tell something was on his mind.

“You good George?” asked Sapnap. George looked over at him and sighed. The brit shook his head.

“I’m worried,” said George. Sapnap understood that they were all worried. Sapnap slung an arm around George’s shoulders.

“He’s okay G-” Sapnap was cut off by George shoving him away and he tripped and fell down.

“The hell George!?” yelled Sapnap. 

“What if he’s not okay Sapnap?! What if he’s hurt?! We already know that he’s alone! What if he’s bleeding out somewhere because the ground gave out under him, or he got jumped by mobs? He’s probably alone and scared. He’s…” yelled George. He sniffled and wiped his eyes. His tears blending in with the rain falling from the sky. 

“Do you know how l-long it’s been since I’ve really hugged Dream…?” whispered George. Sapnap stood up suddenly, feeling really bad for yelling when George is just worried. 

“Hey, Hey, it’s okay.” said Sapnap. George wiped at his eyes again.

“I just- i just feel like I’m not as involved with Dream now. Ever since the incident people like Tommy and Techno have gotten closer to him and, God, I feel like I could do more but he’s not even comfortable with me touching him. I’m just-” George’s voice died in his throat. Spanap pulled his friend into a hug. He had no idea George felt that way about everything and now that he thinks about it, George hasn’t really been involved with his trauma. All that time not being able to help your best friend through something like this must’ve been weighing on him. 

“George, you do enough by just being there. You know how happy Dream gets when we’re all in the same room. I know you can’t help him right now but overtime he’ll hopefully come around. He trusts everyone here so it’s only a matter of time, we just need to be patient. I’m sorry he doesn’t let you touch him and hug him like he does me. I know that’s gotta suck, but he just needs time.” said Sapnap. George hugged Sapnap back and buried his face in the other's neck. Sapnap rubbed his best friend’s back and he cried. George eventually pulled away and wiped his face.

“We should get going, we don’t have time for a stupid breakdown.” said George and he began walking again.

“I’ll let it go for now, but George, you don’t need to discard your feelings just because someone else is in trouble okay? I’m always here if you need to talk, and I’m sure Dream would be too if you opened up to him about this,” said Sapnap. George only nodded but Sapnap’s last sentence stuck in his head. ‘ _ I’m sure Dream would too if you're willing to open up to him about this.’ _ Maybe he would, just maybe. They walked next to each other only talking occasionally so that they could hear things around them. As soon as Sapnap heard the sound of something whimpering he stopped dead in his tracks. He turned around sharply.

“Sap? You hear something?” asked George. Sapnap shushed him by shoving a hand over his mouth. George frowned at him and resisted the urge to bite his hand. George heard it the next time the whimper came. He perked up at it and removed his hands. They turned to each other.

“Do you think…?” whispered George. Sapnap looked him dead in the eyes and nodded. There was a slightly louder cry and words followed it this time. 

“I’m scared…” was what they heard and that was all it took for the two to begin sprinting through the forest. They jumped over fallen trees and ran through bushes completely ignoring everything else in that exact moment. They ran, the whimpers getting louder. Why stumbled into a slight clearing and saw a cave. They knew the crying was coming from there when a particularly loud cry came from the hole. They stopped right at the entrance and their eyes widened at the sight of their best friend. He was gripping his hair tightly as tears ran his face. His breaths came out in short gasps like he was struggling to breath and his eyes were screwed shut. Both of them noticed the way Dream’s black jeans were a different shade right around his knee cap. George looked at Sapnapo and motioned for him to do something since he knew he couldn’t. Sap nodded and walked into the cave and kneeling down next to his friend. He gently reached out and touched his shoulder. Dream’s mind was fuzzy until he felt the touch. He threw himself away from whatever touched him and stood up despite his throbbing leg. He pulled his axe out of his inventory holding it out in front of him. What Dream didn’t expect to see was Sapnap and George looking at him with worried faces. 

“Dream it’s okay, it’s us,” said Sapnap. Dream’s bright green eyes nearly glowed in the darkness of the cave as they flickered from Sap’s face to George’s. He dropped hsi diamond axe to the ground and a loud clang echoed through the stone cavern. 

“G-george? Sap?” mumbled Dream. George stepped forward. 

“It’s us, don’t worry, it’s us,” siad George. He observed his friend. His pants had dirt on them and his shoes were muddy. There was blood on his arm and George’s eyes drifted to the bloody arrow in the floor of the cave. Dream had tears running down his face and his clothes were soaked. Dream lunged forward and tackled Sapnap to the ground. 

“Shit-!” yelled Sapnap in surprise and he hit the stone floor. George turned to see his friends hugging. George kneeled down next to them but kept his distance. He looked away feeling sadness wash over him. He wanted to hug Dream to, he wanted Dream to hug him. George yelped when he felt himself get pulled forwards. Dream had wrapped his arm around George’s neck and forced him to join the hug. 

“I thought- I missed you,” mumbled Dream. George felt tears prick the corners of his eyes and he hugged Dream back, carefully not to hug him too tight. George smiled, tears running down his cheeks. It had been so long since he’d hugged his best friend and despite the situation he’d never been happier. He bit his tongue to hold back his cries not wanting to worry Dream because he was always one to worry about others over himself. The three stayed that way just for a little while before Dream pulled away. 

“I’m g-glad you’re okay,” said Dream. George smiled at him.

“We’re glad you are too Dream,” said Sapnap as he wiped a tear from his eye. Dream gave them a small smile that turned to a frown almost instantly.

“Is… is Tommy okay?” asked Dream. 

“Tommy’s okay, he’s with Techno, Tubbo and Wilbur looking for you,” answered George. Dream smiled. 

“Can I see your leg?” asked Sapnap. Dream looked dazed almost. Sapnap snapped and got his attention. 

“H-huh?” asked Dream. Spanap smield.

“Can I see your leg?” said Sap twice. Dream moved his leg without question and grimaced at the pain that shot through it. Sapnap gently raised his ankle and let it rest on his leg while he pulled out bandages and was about to begin wrapping the wound over the jeans. Dream grabbed Sap’s hand. 

“I h-have shorts if that’s easier.” offered Dream. They noticed how tired and small Dream sounded and their hearts ached because of it.  _ Why would Dream have brought clothing? _

“Yeah that’d probably be easier.” chuckled Sapnap. Sap helped Dream stand and then they turned around to give Dream privacy while he changed. 

“I’m done,” whispered Dream. Spanap turned around and helped him sit back down. George’s brown eyes gazed over the scars on his legs while Sap gently wrapped the bandages around his leg. Dream let out small whimpers throughout the whole process. 

“Good?” asked George making sure his friend was okay. Dream only nodded. They both picked up on how anxious he looked. Sapanp was about to begin lifting Dream’s sleeve to see the wound from the arrow but Dream stopped his hand.

“Can, can we go find Tommy?” asked Dream. 

“We should take care of your-” started Sapnap. Dream looked at Sap with a look that resembled a glare. 

“My arms fine,” said Dream. Sapnap hesitantly nodded and helped Dream stand up. 

“George, tell Techno we found him and to give us cords.” said Sapnap. George nodded and pulled out the communicator and quickly typed something. A ping was heard almost immediately. 

“They’re not far, since the rain has slowed down we should be able to make it there,” said George. Sapnap thought about it for a moment and then he looked down at Dream’s knee. 

“Maybe we shouldn’t walk, Dream’s leg,” said Sapnap. Dream’s head snapped towards him. 

“Dream before you even utter a word you know for a fact that you shouldn’t be walking on your leg,” said Sapnap quickly before Dream could give his own opinion. Dream opened his mouth to speak but the words died in his mouth knowing Sap would never give in. 

“Whatever Snapmap.” muttered Dream. Sapanp glared at him.

“The urge to drop you is so strong.” uttered Sap. Dream giggled at his friend and that put a smile on both of Sap and George’s faces. Dream sat back down on the ground next to the caves wall and George got a fire going while Sapnap sat next to Dream. Dream reached over and grabbed Sapnap’s hand gently and Sap returned it. The orange glow from the fire did nothing to calm Dream’s almost overwhelming anxiety but it was pretty. Dream nervously tapped his fingers on the ground. Neither of them asked why instead opting to make small conversation to try to distract him. It didn’t work. 

**  
  
  
**

Techno led his 3 friends through the thick underbrush, cutting away low branches with a single slash of his sword. They had gotten the message that Dream had been found and Tommy looked like he wanted to dash to wherever they were so Techno kept the cords to himself. 

“We should be getting close,” said Techno. Tommy’s fingers tapped his arm anxiously, the thought of just running straight and hoping he’d run into them was very strong but the glances he kept getting from Wilbur and Techno forced him to stay still. 

“It’s okay Tommy, he’s fine.” said Tubbo trying to reassure him. Tommy glanced at him before looking back down to the ground. They walked another 30 minutes and by the time they were basically there Tommy was almost jittering. Light pouring out from a cave and into the night got their attention. 3 figures just at the cave entrance also caught their eyes. They saw Sapnap notice them and he turned to his friends. George turned to them and then Dream’s head snapped towards them. Tommy felt a feeling of warmth in his chest and he didn’t even know he was moving until he was half way towards Dream. Dream himself saw Tommy and scrambled to his feet limp-running (the fuck is “limp-running”, i get worse at writing everyday) 

“Dream wait!” called Sapnap but Dream ignored him and ran towards Tommy. Tommy and Dream met in the middle and crashed into each other quickly wrapping their arms around each other. Tommy buried his face into Dream’s chest and Dream rested his chin on Tommy’s head. Tommy began crying almost instantly, the relief of seeing Dream okay was too much to handle. 

“Shh, it’s okay Tommy. I’m here,” said Dream. Tommy whimpered and hugged him tighter. 

“You f-fucking asshole, don’t do that shit again.” rasped Tommy. Dream smiled and a tear rolled down his cheek.

“I’m sorry Tommy, I won't do it again.” siad Dream. Tommy pulled back and looked Dream dead in the face.

“EVER. again.” demanded Tommy. Dream smiled at him.

“Never again.” whispered Dream. Tommy reattached himself and Dream hugged him gently. Techno, Taboo and Wilbur came up behind the two. 

“Glad you're okay,” said Techno with a smile. Dream grinned at him. 

“You too,” replied Dream. 

You had us worried sick,” said Wilbur. Dream scratched the back of his neck shyly. 

“I’m sorry,” muttered Dream with a chuckle. Sapnap came up behind and slung an arm around Dream. 

“Not your fault but again, your leg.” reminded Sapnap. Dream grimaced at the pain that was currently coursing through his leg. Tommy let go of Dream and wiped his tears away. Sap took the opportunity to offer his shoulder to Dream as he limped back. Dream settled on the cave floor with a small thud and sighed in relief that the pressure was off his leg. Tommy settled almost right next to Dream while the other spread out a bit more. 

“What happened to your leg?” asked Wilbur. Dream rubbed the skin around the bandages.

“I fell and landed on something, I think it was a bone,” said Dream. Everyone picked up on how he slurred his words ever so slightly.

“Did you happen to hit your head after you fell?” asked George. Dream thought about it for longer than he should have.

“Maybe…?” mumbled Dream. Techno rolled his eyes.

“It’s pretty late. Why don’t you get some sleep, Dream,” said Techno. Dream yawned. 

“Nah, there’s no way I’m going to sleep now.” responded Dream. Techno rolled his eyes. 

“Sure Big Man? You’re looking pretty tired.” asked Tommy. Dream thought about it again and yawned. Tommy moved closer and Dream lifted his arm and Tommy hugged Dream’s torso. 

“What happened to Bad and Skeppy?” asked Tubbo. Dream looked over and Sap and George.

“Bad and Skeppy were with you?” asked Dream. Sapnap nodded.

“Yeah, but then they had to go back home because Bad slipped on mud and sprained his ankle.” explained George. 

“Damn hope he's okay,” said Wilbur. Techno looked at Dream and then Tommy. 

“Dream?” asked Techno. Dream looked at him.

“Hm?” hummed Dream. 

“Why’d you leave?” asked Techno. Dream visibly tensed and Tommy perked up at Techno’s question. 

“I, uh, had a nightmare but I didn’t wanna wake anyone up so I left.” whispered Dream, voice cracking slightly.

“Huh? Why didn’t you wake anyone up?” asked Sapnap. Dream started doing that nervous tapping again. 

“Uh, because you all need your sleep, and I thought I could handle it.” said Dream. 

“Dream, it’s only been like 6 months since it happened, you’re bound to have nightmares and we said we’d help you through them.” said Techno. Dream shrugged his shoulders.

“I know, but you guys need your sleep too, especially you.” said Dream gesturing to Techno. Techno chuckled. 

“My sleep schedule is already messed up, what's a few more allnighters gonna do?” joked the hybrid. Dream smiled and the other laughed. Dream yawned once again. Tommy had already passed out from his earlier outbursts and was now snoring on Dream’s chest. 

“You should sleep Dream, we can head back tomorrow or uh later today,” said Wilbur. Dream only nodded this time and he rested his head on Tommy’s. They all watched as Dream fell asleep in a matter of minutes. Techno sighed.

“These two… I’m not the only one who picked up on it right?” asked Techno. Everyone looked at him before either looking away or shaking their heads.

“Tommy nearly threw himself out a fucking window, pretty sure we all picked up on the fact that these two aren’t good when separated.” said Wilbur rubbing his eyes. Thinking back to a few other times in the past. These two were almost always with the other. It wasn’t too obvious unless you knew what to look for but now all the signs are there. Dream was very clearly protective of Tommy and whenever they weren't together Dream would ask multiple times where Tommy was but added other names not to seem suspicious. Tommy does something similar. He looked more anxious if he had no idea where he was, similar to today. 

“It’s not that they’re bad when separated, well I mean it’s bad then too but I think it’s really bad when they don’t know where the other is.” said Tubbo. Techno nodded. 

“Let’s just not separate them too much in the future.” said George. They all looked at the two sleeping. 

“Yeah, good idea.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOpe ya liked it!
> 
> I managed to get some dteam moments in there since people kept asking for them and stuff haha
> 
> The ending felt a little bad to me so sry if it's disappointing ;-;
> 
> Hopefully I'll do an ALT after this non related oneshot I'm doing for someone!
> 
> Love you guys! :D
> 
> -Ash
> 
> WORD COUNT: 5044


	9. Hey guys

Hey guys, 

sorry I haven't uploaded I'm just feeling demotivated right now I guess

I hope y'all can understand! I'll try to post soon!

For the time being if you haven't read any of my other things I posted some stuff pretty recently so go check those out if you want to :)

Sorry again ;-;

I love you all! ❤️ Thank you for the constant support and ideas! :)


	10. Nightmares and Worry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Techno has a nightmare and Wilbur and Dream help :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi omg I haven't written for this in a while ;-;
> 
> The SMP plot has been stuck in my head and well I've written a lot of oneshots for that hahaha
> 
> anyway, a lot had been asking about Techno's incident and to include it in a oneshot so i did :)))
> 
> Im sorry I haven't updated this in awhile! Hopefully I can get back into it again :D
> 
> Love you all! Hope you enjoy!

_ He saw the smoke rising from the house and his eyes widened. He dropped his iron hoe to the ground and ran towards the home of his father. His feet dug into the soil as he ran. His breath came out in short gasps. He finally reached the pavement, his bare feet were covered in dirt. He didn’t stop even for a second to pull on his shoes. His bare feet began to sting painfully because of running on the rough, stone ground. He nearly fell when he made a sharp left, the stone cutting his soles. He skidded to a painful stop in front of the house. The roof was currently the only thing on fire and he ran inside and took in the scene in front of him. Phil had an unconscious Wilbur clutched to his chest. His netherite sword was on the ground broken.  _

_ “Stay back!” yelled Phil as the older raised the top half of his sword, the blade cutting his palm. A group of guys was standing a few feet away all armed to the teeth with weapons. He noticed how Phil looked down at Wilbur with concern. _

_ “It’s okay Wil, I got you.” whispered Phil. The guy in the middle of the group laughed loudly.  _

_ “That was honestly too easy. Get whatcha want boys! I’ll deal with this pests.” claimed the man. Techno felt something in him snap. Phil hugged Wilbur closer to his chest, the guy raised his weapon and Techno moved. He grabbed an axe off the ground and dashed towards them blocking the guy’s attack. A loud clang was heard throughout the room. The guy jumped back in surprise. Techno lowered his axe. _

_ “Techno… stop, it’s hardcore,” said Phil. Techno snorted, mind full of anger.  _

_ “Shit… that’s Technoblade isn’t it?” asked one of the guys. Another answered with a yes but he didn’t care. Techno lunged at the main guy but he managed to block the attack.  _

_ “Damn….” said the guy as he grit his teeth. Techno pulled out his dagger and stabbed the guy's arm forcing him to drop his weapon. Techno kicked it away and swiftly knocked the guy to the ground. He glared at the man with pure hatred.  _

_ “Get the fuck out of here.” spat Techno. The guy scrambled away and Techno turned around walking towards his father.  _

_ “Are you okay?” asked Techno. Phil nodded. _

_ “Just some cuts on my side and my shoulder was stabbed. Wilbur hit his head pretty hard, I’m worried.” said Phil. Techno nodded. He sprinted over to the medical supplies and dug through the cabinets. His eyes widened when he heard the creek of floorboards and he turned around to see the guy. Techno jumped up and something snapped. Any rational thought he had vanished when he saw that guy jumping at them with an axe out. Techno didn’t even feel himself move. He realized what he had done. Blood was splattered all over the floor and Techno’s white shirt. A sickening thunk was heard as the man's body hit the ground. Techno looked down and saw the blood soaked the floorboards and spread. The blood began to pool around Techno’s feet and he just stared at it. The other guys came back and saw. Techno moved then too but he never killed another one. By the time they retreated he was covered in blood. Splatters of the crimson liquid on his clothing from his own wounds and others. Techno stood there silently. His brain was full. A million thoughts were running through his head and he turned around seeing the body on the ground. He looked up next and saw Phil’s horrified face staring at the body and then Phil’s eyes moved up and they made eye contact. The horror in Phil’s eyes was what made the realization of what he did finally set in. _

_ “P-phil,” whispered Techno and he stepped forward. Techno felt his knees buckle and then the world went dark. _

  
  
  
  


Techno shot up in his bed with a sharp gasp. His long pink hair had long since fallen out of its bun during his nightmare. He clutched the front of his shirt as sweat rolled down the side of his face. His breaths were quick and ragged. He felt something shift next to him and he saw Dream rubbing his eyes. Dream had his own nightmare earlier and Techno offered to sleep with him. Dream looked up at him.

“Techno? You good?” asked Dream. Techno stood up without answering and walked towards the door with shaky legs. Dream got up and attempted to follow.

“Hey! Techno!” called Dream. Techno’s mind was elsewhere, he had to get away so when he walked out the door he slammed it so hard that it got jammed, trapping Dream. The door itself hit Dream smack in the face. Dream stumbled back and put a hand over his nose.

“Fuck!” cursed Dream. He ignored his nose and ran to the door.

“Techno!” called Dream. Techno kept walking down the hallway clutching his arms tight. He heard Dream begin to hit the door and he sprinted downstairs and out the back door. Dream hit the door with his fist trying anything to get the wooden door unstuck. He rammed into it. That wasn’t normal. Techno had a nightmare. Dream had already felt Techno shifting in the bed but he was mostly asleep and didn’t think too much about it. Then Techno had sat up in cold sweat, breaths ragged. That’s when Dream knew something was wrong but he couldn’t get through this damn door to actually fucking do anything. Dream wiped his nose and smeared the blood there. He backed up a few feet and rammed into the door with his shoulder. Wilbur who had heard the door slam jumped at the sudden loud noise. He stepped outside and saw Techno’s door nearly fall out of the frame. 

“The fuck?” asked Tommy as he opened his door, Tubbo’s door opened a few seconds later. Dream stepped back again and rammed into the door and it popped out of the frame, teh hinges falling to the ground with a clang. Dream was unable to prevent himself from falling so he landed on top of the door. God his shoulder fucking  _ hurt _ . He groaned.

“Holy shit- Dream?!” yelled WIlbur as he ran over to Dream. Tommy and Tubbo left their rooms running up to Dream as well. Wilbur reached for his arm but stopped. 

“Can I help you Dream?” asked WIlbur. He didn’t want to scare Dream as he already looked rather distressed. Dream looked over at him and grabbed Wilbur’s outstretched hand. Wilbur pulled him up.

“What the hell Dream? Where’s Techno?” asked Tommy. Dream quickly thanked Wilbur for helping him and made his way towards hethe stairs.

“Don’t know where he is.” siad Dream while limping down the stairs. 

“What happened?” asked Tubbo. Dream was dead set on finding Techno and Wilbur noticed.

“We can figure out what happened later, we need to find Techno,” directed Wilbur. Tommy and Tubbo nodded. Dream scanned the living room and his eyes landed on the back door’s knob. It had a dent in it from something Dream couldn’t remember and said dent lined up exactly with the small crack on the door but Dream noticed how it wasn’t lined up. He walked over and knelt down observing it. 

“You find something?” asked Tommy. Dream stood up.

“He went out the back door.” Dream noticed how Techno’s sword and shield were still sitting in the chest next to the door. Dream didn’t even have to look out windows to know mobs were out there, their quiet groans and hisses were enough to let him know they were there. Dream gulped.

“His stuff is still here,” said Dream.

“So he’s unarmed and out in the forest. Perfect.” groaned Wilbur. Dream sighed and pulled out Techno’s diamond axe. 

“I’m gonna go find him, I’m good at tracking from manhunts. You guys stay here and keep watch okay?” said Dream. Tubbo and Tommy nodded but Wilbur stepped forwards.

“Can I tag along?” asked Wilbur. Dream looked at him with tired green eyes. Wilbur observed the green orbs. Dream’s eyes were a vibrant Dream, they almost appeared to glow in the dark. He saw how his eyes were tired and dull from just waking up but he also saw the fear and worry in them. 

“Sure,” answered Dream. Wilbur walked over and pulled out an iron axe. He turned to Tubbo and Tommy.

“Make sure you keep and eye out for him alright?” said Wilbur with a smile. Dream smiled when the three hugged.

“Let’s go,” said Wilbur, standing up and headed towards the door. Dream nodded and together they headed into the dark forest.

  
  
  
  


Techno clutched his bleeding shoulder as he sat behind a tree. A zombie with a shovel had jumped him and managed to get a good hit on his shoulder before he killed it. He didn’t really care though, his mind was elsewhere. He was lost in his head as he stared at the river in front of him with dazed eyes. The memory of his nightmare kept replaying in his mind and he clutched his shoulder tighter. Techno felt his eyes gloss over and he shook his head. He wasn’t going to cry. This happened years ago, it didn’t matter now. So why the hell can’t he get over it? Techno pulled his knees to his chest and rested his forehead on them. His long pink hair was now in a messy bun, some of the longer strands refusing to stay in the rubber band fell down on his face and neck. He screwed his eyes shut relying on the sounds of the river to keep himself calm. 

  
  
  


Dream and Wilbur walked through the forest side by side, weapons up. 

“Any idea of where he could’ve gone?” asked WIlbur. Dream shook his head. He honestly had no idea where the pink haired male would go but he did know Techno liked high places unlike Dream. 

“He might be somewhere high, so look into trees or on cliffs,” said Dream. They’d been walking for a good half an hour, fighting off mobs when they got too close. Wilbur looked at Dream. To say he looked worried was an understatement. 

“What happened?” asked Wilbur. Dream cleared his throat.

“He had a nightmare I’m pretty sure.” said Dream. He assumed the nightmare was about Techno’s experience on the hardcore server. He wanted to be careful about what he said around Wilbur because Techno said that he didn’t remember it AND he stated that he didn’t want Dream to tell anyone. 

“Uh I think it was about the incident on Phil’s server,” said Dream. Wilbur looked away and nodded.

“You don’t have to say any more,” said Wilbur bitterly. Dream raised an eyebrow.

“Techno made it very clear he doesn't want me to know what happened.” finished Wilbur. Dream nodded. 

“You seem frustrated that he won’t share what happened.” said Dream. Wilbur rolled his eyes.

“I guess I am. He told you before he even thought about telling me. I mean, I get why he told you but I don’t know, it hurts I guess.” explained Wilbur. 

“I just wished he’d trust me enough to share it. It hurt him for so long and I wanted to help him but I never could. I was always rushed out of the room when he’d had a panic attack or a nightmare. I just had to watch while my brother suffered for years, Dream.” ranted Wilbur.

“There’s a reason why he doesn’t want you to know. He wants to protect you from it.” said Dream. Wilbur only sighed.

“I know, I just…” Wilbur’s voice. Dream sighed. He looked over at Wilbur. The latter looked saddened. He knew how it felt to not be able to help when you want to. Frankly, the reason why he couldn’t help was because he was bleeding to death in a forest and couldn’t move as his enemy went to go kill his friends. A bit of a different situation but he still understood. Dream swallowed the fear in his gut and put a hand on Wilbur’s shoulder shocking the taller male.

“I understand,” said Dream. The two stopped walking completely and Dream pulled Wilbur into a hug. Wilbur was going to hug back until Dream flinched when he raised his arms so he decided against it just accepting the comfort Dream was giving him. Dream pulled away and gave Wilbur a smile, which the other returned.

“Thanks Dream.” said Wilbur. 

“It wasn’t a problem Wilbur.” After that they continued to search for Techno. It had been another half hour before Wilbur looked up at the small but steep hill they were near. His eyes widened when he saw the small, curled up figure of his brother. 

“Dream, Dream,” said Wilbur. Dream turned to him and followed the other's gaze.

“Figured he’d be somewhere high.” said Dream with a sigh.

“Why’s that?” asked WIlbur as they made their way to the less steep side of the mountain. Dream looked up and shuddered.

“He knows I hate heights so he does this to get away from me, he should know by now that it doesn’t work.” said Dream. Wilbur laughed quietly at that. Dream’s willingness to help someone he cared about never faltered. The two climbed the hill, Wilbur reaching the top first because of Dream’s many pauses. Wilbur held his hand out to Dream, which the other accepted almost instantly, and Wilbur pulled him up. 

“Why Techno, why.” muttered Dream. Wilbur chuckled and turned. Dream took the lead walking through the trees until they reached him. Techno had his knees pulled to his chest, head resting on them while his arms were wrapped around the front of his legs. Dream cleared his throat to let the other know he was there. Techno sighed and let his legs go so they dangled over the edge.

“Persistent aren’t you Dream.” rasped Techno. Dream chuckled. Dream walked forwards and sat next to him. 

“We are that.” answered Dream. Techno raised his eyebrow when Dream said that.

“We?” asked the hybrid. Dream looked at him before Wilbur sat down on Techno’s left. Techno looked over at Wilbur and shook his head.

“”Why are you both here.” mumbled Techno, burying his face into his hands.

“Because you left the house completely unarmed, in a rush, and apparently woke up from a nightmare.” deadpanned Wilbur. Techno’s red eyes shot to Dream when Wilbur mentioned the nightmare and Dream raised his arms in surrender. 

“I didn’t tell him about the incident, don’t worry. Trust is a fragile thing,” said Dream. Techno sighed in relief. Dream fumbled with his sleeve nervously. 

“I do think you could tell him though.” mumbled Dream. Wilbur flushed and Techno glanced at Dream.

“I know you’re worried about…  _ that _ but I don’t think he’d ever think that.” said Dream. Techno continued to stare at him, making Dream feel scared almost and making him subconsciously move over. 

“Sorry, about that. You don’t have to tell me, I understand,” said Wilbur. Techno looked at his brother. 

“But… it does help to talk about it. Whatever you’re worried about, I won’t do.” added Wilbur. He reached over and grabbed Techno’s hand, squeezing it gently.

“I promise.” Techno swallowed thickly. 

“I don’t- fuck, I don’t want you to think differently of me.” whispered Techno. Wilbur smiled at his younger brother. 

“I won’t, just act like it's you and Dream. Just talk to him if you’re too scared to tell me.” said Wilbur. Techno turned slightly towards Dream, the blonde put an arm around him and pulled him closer and Techno began speaking. He told Dream the same story he told Dream all the other time he’s had a nightmare over this. Dream ran his fingers through his hair when he got worked up and Wilbur sat beside him, squeezing his hand and rubbing his thumb soothingly over the back of it. Techno’s pink hair came down when Dream ran his fingers through it and Wilbur would subconsciously fiddle with the long strands. When he finished, Techno buried his face in Dream’s shoulder. Wilbur sat there, taking in everything his brother had said. 

“So, you killed someone?” asked Wilbur. Techno tensed and hugged Dream tighter. Wilbur pulled his brother away from Dream and turned him towards himself. Techno avoided eye contact, staring at the grass instead. Wilbur placed his hands on Techno’s cheeks and lifted his head gently,

“You were protecting us. I understand Techno and I don’t think differently about you in the slightest. I never thought differently of Dream and the same goes for you. Just like Dream you were protecting the people you cared about.” said WIlbur. Techno stared at him for a moment before pulling Wilbur into a hug surprising him. Wilbur only hugged back, not complaining when he felt his shirt get wet. Dream watched them with a smile on his face. He was glad Techno told Wilbur, it was something he’d always tried to encourage when talking about this. Techno would always say that he wants to tell Wilbur but he was always so afraid he’d see him differently. Dream never forced him to do it, just like Techno never forced him to talk about his nightmares. Dream looked away and made the grave mistake of looking down and he moved back a good 2 feet from the edge, getting the other two’s attention. Dream gave them a shaky smile.

“Sorry, I looked down,” said Dream with a chuckle. Techno chuckled and Wilbur smiled. They both moved back, sitting under the tree on the hill. The sun was just barely peeking over the tall trees of the forest.

“Thank you both. Sorry for just runnin’.” said techno quietly. 

“You took a page from Dream’s book Techno.” joked Wilbur. Dream laughed. 

“Yeah, with the amount of times I’ve done this you don’t even need to apologize for this one.” added Dream. Techno smiled.

“Yeah, I suppose that's true.” answered Techno. Wilbur wrapped his arms around Techno’s shoulder from behind him.

“Can we braid your hair?” asked WIlbur. Techno couldn't help but feel surprised when he asked. Wilbur hadn’t braided his hair in what felt like forever. 

“Sure,” said Techno with a shrug. Dream and Wilbur looked at each other with a grin and they moved behind Wilbur. 

“We should do a loose braid, those always look good with Techno’s hair.” said Dream. Wilbur hummed in agreement and got to work. Dream sat and watched as Wilbur expertly braided the hybrid’s hair. Techno sat there quietly, just enjoying the company of the two. They were what the “leaders” of the group. They made sure everyone was safe and such, kept the house running. BAsically, it was rare for them to catch a break, especially since they lived with Tommy who was known to start chaos wherever the opportunity revealed itself. Techno was always better at handling himself after nightmares than Dream was. The emotional strain it put on Dream after having a nightmare was often too much so he just slept or passed out. Techno could handle himself better, Dream was jealous about that but it always made the moments after Techno’s nightmares something to remember. They were always calm moments, where he and Dream would sit together either hugging or just sitting together. They always enjoyed these little breaks, it felt deserved after the rough nights. Dream sighed in contentment, leaning against the tree behind him. Wilbur tied the end of the loose braid and scooted back along with Techno. Techno was in the middle, Dream on his right and Wilbur on his left. The 3 watched the sun rise, it was beautiful. A variety of different colors spread across the skin. Dream leaned his head on Techno’s shoulder and Wilbur rested his head on Techno’s other shoulder. They all smiled as the sun continued to rise then Techno’s head tipped over as his eyelids became heavy. His head rested on Dream’s, the blonde just shifting so he'd be more comfortable. Wilbur smiled at the sight. 

“Love you guys…” mumbled Techno. They both smiled. 

“We love you too, Techno,” responded Wilbur.

“We love you too.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eyyyy gotta love some hurt comfort
> 
> I hope this didn't seem rushed ;-; I reread it and it felt rushed to me even though I've been working on it for a while 
> 
> These three are great and I might do some future fluff with them :))
> 
> anyway! Thank you all for reading! Sorry again for not uploading! 
> 
> Love you guys! 
> 
> -Ash :)
> 
> Side note!
> 
> There's been some people asking to make fanart! And I just wanted to say it is perfectly fine for anyone to make fanart as long as they credit me!
> 
> This goes for all of my oneshots and my main story Gotta Protect :)
> 
> I'd love to see it if you make some! 
> 
> Contact me here :)
> 
> Insta: hammy1o1 (pfp is a doggo)
> 
> Tumblr: hamham1o1
> 
> Im pretty active on both but Im on insta way more so it'd probably be better to send them there :)


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